


Nefelibata

by Shellsan



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2019-11-19 00:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 77,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18128480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shellsan/pseuds/Shellsan
Summary: Nefelibata:(n.) lit. “Cloud-walker”; One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature or art.Mai is invited to a parapsychology convention run by BSPR in England under her writer name, Fuji Katsumi, - a well known horror writer - in order to learn more for her next books. When she meets the great Oliver Davis (always Naru to her) again, will sparks fly? Or will these couple weeks result in another five years of radio silence? Set five years after Lin and Naru leave.Note: Warnings are subject to change depending on how violent Mai's dreams get, however they will only ever be in relation to her dreams, never real life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Trusting Intuition](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11823531) by [rowankitsune18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowankitsune18/pseuds/rowankitsune18). 



> This story was inspired by the concept behind Trusting Intuition by romankitsune18 which is totally amazing and you should definitely check it out! I'll be posting these every two weeks on Saturdays because these chapters are longer so I need longer to write them up. Without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy and make sure to leave a comment for me telling me what you thought!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by the concept behind Trusting Intuition by whitephoenix18 which is totally amazing and you should definitely check it out! I'll be posting these every two weeks on Saturdays because these chapters are longer so I need longer to write them up. Without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy and make sure to leave a review for me telling me what you thought!
> 
> Nefelibata:
> 
> (n.) lit. “Cloud-walker”; One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature or art.

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter One**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Mai smiled widely as she looked around the foreign hotel with curiosity. English filling her ears from all directions as people chattered away around her.

Pulling her beret down further on her head, she made her way through the crowds; careful to avoid contact with people as she scanned the area for direction as to where to go. Spotting the reception desk, she made her way over, suitcase towed beside her.

Coming to a stop in front of the desk, she waited for the lady to finish on the phone before she turned to Mai with a bright smile.

“Hello, welcome to The Athenaeum*. How can I be of assistance?” She asked, voice professionally chipper in a way Mai couldn't help but relate to given her own experience as a receptionist and assistant.

“I have a reservation under Mai Taniyama?” Mai informed her, smiling back.

There was the sound of the receptionist's nails clicking against the keys before she smiled back up at Mai.

“Do you have some ID on you for confirmation?” She inquired.

Pulling out her passport, Mai passed it to her without complaint, waiting as the lady confirmed her identity.

Seemingly satisfied with her documents, the receptionist grabbed a key card from on the desk, before turning to her and handing it over with her passport.

“I have you down for a fourteen day stay Miss Taniyama. Is that correct?” She inquired. At Mai's nod, she continued easily. “We hold a breakfast buffet every morning for ten pounds that you are more than welcome to join. Reception is open twenty-four hours so if you have any problems or questions, please don't be afraid to use the phone provided in your room to call; or feel free to ask any of the staff and we will do our best to help you.”

Smiling brightly at her, Mai thanked her, careful not to bow since it would be out place as she took a hold of her suitcase and began her trek to the elevator that would take her to her room.

Glancing down at her card, she took note of the number.

 _'Room 209, huh?'_ She thought, committing it to memory.

Pressing the button for her floor, she waited silently in the empty elevator, humming lightly to herself and it wasn't long before it stopped; the brunette stepping out just as someone else stepped in.

Paying them no mind she continued down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of her door.

Swiping her card, she pushed the door open and her eyes widened at the size of her room before she grinned. They had outdone themselves this time.

Even after years of working for the same publishing company, she still couldn't wrap her head around having her expenses paid for whenever she was doing something work related – or the lengths they would go to make sure that she was comfortable while doing them.

She wanted to complain at all the unnecessary space, but the truth was, she was going to be here for two weeks and she'd probably need every nook and cranny for when she was working on her writing and decided to move around for a change of pace.

Wheeling her suitcase behind herself, she slipped her coat off as she went and came to a stop in front of the bed. She dropped the coat on the end and let out a childish shout of excitement at the soft looking mattress.

Letting go of her suitcase, she couldn't resist jumping onto the bed and letting out a content sigh as she fell backwards onto it.

It had been a long flight and now that she was down, she couldn't help the yawn.

Looking down at her phone, that had automatically set itself to London's time, she groaned when she saw that it was only six thirty here**. Jetlag was the worst.

Pushing herself up off the mattress before she could fall asleep, she moved to go and set up her laptop on the desk that her suite provided.

If she went to sleep this early there was no way she would not sleep through things. She would just sit down and do some work before showering and then heading down to the dining room to grab a bite to eat.

Starting up her laptop, she waited patiently as things loaded in before opening her emails first. Scrolling through, but not seeing anything super urgent, she turned her attention to the word document that she had open.

Cracking her knuckles, she settled in to write for a little bit.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was nearly two hours later when she surfaced from her typing. Glancing at the time on her phone, she blinked in surprise. “Has it really been that long?” She mumbled to herself.

Pressing save on her work, she pushed herself up. There was no time left to shower now if she was hoping to catch the restaurant downstairs before they shut up for the night.

 _'Phone? Check. Key card? Check. Purse? Check. Coat? Check.'_ Satisfied that she had everything, she made her way down to the restaurant for dinner.

Her solo meal flew by and before she knew it, Mai was back upstairs, ready to shower and get ready for bed. Taking note of the time, she did some quick math and decided that once she'd showered it would be around seven. Ayako and Bou-san would be awake enough for her to call them and let them know that she'd arrived safely, outside of the text she'd sent off to them all earlier.

Grabbing her pyjamas she placed them inside her ensuite before stripping her clothes and stepping under the heated water, letting it sooth the aches of her body from being on a plane for so long before she began to scrub herself down; humming along to the music that was playing quietly from her phone.

It was twenty minutes later when she sat on her bed, phone in hand as she waited for it to dial out.

It rang out twice before she heard her adoptive mother's voice on the other end. _“Hello?”_

Mai couldn't help her smile at the slightly grumpy tone Ayako's voice had because of the early hour, despite having definitely been up almost an hour ago.

“ _Morning Ayako.”_

There was a small paused before- _“Mai! Good morning. Or night for you, I guess? How are you? How did your flight go? How's the hotel?”_ She demanded, suddenly much more awake.

The brunette laughed at her excitement. _“Yeah it's night time. I won't be able to talk for too long, but I thought I should call since I don't know when my next chance will be with how busy my first week here is likely to be. But I'm good. Tired, but otherwise in good condition. The flight was long and boring, but business class definitely has enough perks to keep me working through most of it. And the hotel is amazing. The room is so big, I could fit all us in here and still have space!”_

Ayako laughed at her daughter. _“Good. Nothing but the best for my girl.”_ She proclaimed.

There was the sound of something thudding against the floorboards of Ayako's house before she heard a muffled shout of her name.

“ _Oi, stop being so noisy you idiot.”_ She heard Ayako hiss, making her giggle.

“ _Mai! I miss you so much already. Please come back. Don't you dare find a nice boy over there and abandon me with this hag for too long.”_ She heard him whine, not close enough to be against the phone but close enough that she could hear him.

Her heart swelled as his word.

Fighting a yawn, she took a moment to reply. _“Hello Bou-san. Morning. I promise that you will be the first to know if I meet a cute boy who can keep my attention for more than a minute.”_ She promised.

There was a noise of pain as Ayako presumably took the phone back from him.

“ _Thanks for checking in even though it's late for you, but I think it's time you got to bed. I can feel the exhaustion through the phone.”_ The doctor advised.

Mai made a noise of agreement. _“I'll call you guys again when I have the chance. G'night. Love you.”_ She murmured; voice being slowly overtaken by the need to rest.

There was a chuckle before she heard a reply of the same sentiment from them and then the line cut.

Forcing herself up from the bed, Mai moved to her suitcase to pull out her phone charger and the adapter she had for the power outlets here.

Plugging it in next to the bedside table, she put her phone on charge before setting her alarm for seven the next morning and double checking that her phone was on London time.

Satisfied, she finally crawled under the blankets and allowed herself to drift off, surrounded by warmth and eager for what the next day would bring.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Mai couldn't keep the grin from her face as she stepped out of the taxi, thanking the driver and paying him before moving towards the entrance doors of the conference hall.

It was like stepping into a whole new world as she looked around at the large number of people in small groups, talking about various subjects. There were banners up around the place.

Spotting an events planner sitting on the desk where she signed in, she picked it up and flipped it open, scanning through the different lectures they were offering.

Day One:

9:00-10:00 Introduction to Parapsychology by Steven Richardson

10:15-11:30 Myths and Legends – How to Tell What's Real and What's Fake by Maria Sinclair

13:00-15:00 Ghost Hunting: The Field Practice of Parapsychology by Madoka Mori

Day Two:

9:00-11:00 Parapsychology as A Science by Oliver Davis

13:00-15:00 Curses, Hexes and Everything In between by Sonya Miller

Day Three:

9:00-10:00 Mediums, Psychics, and ESPers by Daniel Williams

10:15-11:15 Ghosts and Poltergeists; Characteristics and Classification by Charles Cunningham

11:20-12:00 Planes of Existence by Mikaela Campbell

13:00-15:00 Q&A with Martin Davis

18:00-23:00 Fund-raising Ball

Of course, outside of the various lectures that were lined up there were the lecturers themselves and other members of the parapsychology and ghost hunting community to speak with and learn from. As well as a few stalls set up here and there selling books and other items such as crystals or sutras.

Scanning the room, Mai tried to see if she could spot anyone that she knew.

There were a few faces she recognised though couldn't place, but no-one that jumped straight out at her.

Glancing down at her phone, she sighed when she saw that there was still another thirty minutes before the first lecture would begin.

Resigning herself to her fate, the brunette began to wander around, taking note of some of the books she saw that she hadn't had a chance to read, keeping an eye out to stop someone worth speaking to.

It was then that she noticed familiar pink hair out of the corner of her eye.

Swing around, she couldn't help the smile that spread over her face as she saw Madoka standing a little further down the room talking to an older looking blonde woman.

If you had told Mai four years ago that the sight of Madoka and the possibility of seeing Naru and Lin were opportunities that she would run towards, she would have called you a liar. Even though at the time it had been a year, she still hadn't quite accepted the way that they had left. It had taken a long time for her to get over Naru's blatant disregard of her feelings and the fact that all three of them had lied to her for years.

Now though, she could safely say that she had matured and gotten over the past. So, seeing her old friend brought her nothing but joy.

Making her way over, pushing through the crowd easily, she approached the woman from behind her, moving as quietly as possible.

The older blonde lady took note of her but didn't seem inclined to say anything her as Mai snuck up behind.

Grinning at the help she readied herself before reaching out to grab her shoulder and whisper “boo” in her ear quietly.

Jumping slightly, Madoka swung around, hand on her chest while her friend giggled behind her.

“What the- Mai?” Her voice cut off, going from loud to confused faster than Mai had ever seen.

Grinning at her, Mai gave her a small bow, more mocking than an actual greeting.

“Hello Madoka _-san_.”

It was a moment before the pink-haired woman basically flung herself at Mai.

“Mai, it is you! It's been so long! How are you? What are you doing here? Oh! We have to tell Koujo. And Noll! They'll be so glad to see you.” She chattered away quickly leaving Mai laugh at her friend’s enthusiastic response.

There was a small cough to catch Madoka's attention and the woman seemed to remember herself.

“Oh, of course. Luella, this is Mai Taniyama. She used to work for Oliver back in Japan.” She introduced. “And Mai, this is Luella Davis, Oliver's mother.”

Mai blinked for a moment before an image of the crying woman came to mind. “Ah, of course. I apologise, we have met before, if only briefly. It's wonderful to see you Mrs. Davis.”

There was a pause before Luella seemed to catch up. “One of the people who used to work with my son, huh? I had wondered whether or not to let you approach Madoka like that, but I figured that it couldn't do any harm. I must thank you for such a good laugh.”

Madoka pouted at her friend’s words. “You knew what she was doing? Damn it, Luella, I nearly had a heart attack!” She exclaimed.

Mai laughed at them. “I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Considering how many times _you_ have terrified _me_ , I think I can be forgiven.”

The other woman conceded to her point, grin still in place.

Before they could continue their talk however, Mai noticed everyone beginning to file into the lecture room. A quick look at the clock on the wall she spotted revealed that there was only five minutes before the first lecture would begin.

“It would seem that it's time for the first lecture. Are you coming in to watch as well?” Mai inquired, looking over at the two women.

Madoka shook her head. “The first lecture is by one of our top students here. I was the one that proof read his notes and helped him prepare. If I have to listen to that lecture one more time, I might actually go insane.” She implored.

“And I'm afraid I'm only here as a friend, there's not much in this field that interests me.” Luella admitted sheepishly.

Mai smiled kindly at her. “In that case, I'll be leaving you two for the moment. I'll be hanging around for the next two lectures.” She admitted, a little sad to be leaving them so soon.

Smiling brightly, Madoka wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “That's fine. You can join us for the lunchtime break. That way you can see Oliver and Koujo as well.” She suggested.

This made Mai perk up a little more.

“That sounds great, if you don't think I'll be interrupting?” She agreed, biting her lip at the thought that she might be intruding.

Luella waved off her worries with an easy laugh. “It's fine dear. I'd love to get to know more about you. It would seem that everyone else knows you pretty well. But you had better get going for the moment or you'll miss the lecture.” She warned.

Blanching at the thought, she bowed quickly without thinking to show her gratitude before racing off to the room, barely making it to a seat before it began.

Pulling out her notebook and a pen, she settled in to take some notes. It was going to be a productive few hours.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was just gone eleven thirty when Mai stepped out into the main room of the convention once more, stretching her arm out and sighing at the relief it gave her.

Looking around, she took a moment to locate Madoka, hoping to spot the pink-haired woman without going on a huge journey to find her.

She needn't have worried though as the woman was already on her way over, ignoring people as they tried to grab her attention and ask her questions.

Laughing at her friend's attitude, Mai made her way over to her, grinning when she reached the other woman, who hadn't quite managed to shake off one of the people who wanted to ask her some questions.

Seeing Mai approach them, Madoka gave the younger man an apologetic look.

“My apologies, but I'll have to cut this short. I have some lunch plans that I really must attend to. However, if you still have questions after this afternoons lecture, you can approach me then and I would be happy to answer any questions that you have.” Madoka promised, smiling at the man before turning heel to walk away, grabbing Mai's arm on the way past before she could be stopped again.

Mai giggled at the irritated look on Madoka's face.

“Honestly, I had hoped that people would be smart enough to leave the lecturers alone until _after_ they'd spoken. You wouldn't believe the amount of times people have stopped to ask me questions on things that I’ll be covering when I speak later on this afternoon.” The pink-haired woman complained; frustration clear in her tone.

Humming in understanding, Mai couldn't help but compare her irritation to how Naru would likely feel in that situation.

“That does sound horrible. I guess I had better wait until after your lecture to bombard you with questions as well.” She couldn't help but tease the older woman, drawing a laugh from her.

Shooting Mai a fake glare, Madoka rolled her eyes. “You know that you don't count. You're a friend and I hardly think you need to ask me about what the definition of a dowsing rod is or why the temperature drops when there's a spirit in the room. Or better yet, the sceptics I deal with on the regular that ask how I can be _sure_ that it wasn't just a draft.” She ranted.

The brunette shrugged slightly, neither confirming nor denying her claims. “You never know, it's been a long time since I worked for Naru. I could have forgotten everything.” She pointed out.

Madoka looked at her for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah. You're at a paranormal convention after all. There's no way.” She declared.

Mai raised an eyebrow. “So was the guy who just stopped you to ask the correct method for using a dowsing rod.”

A pout quickly formed on friend’s face. “Sure, but they didn't spend two years under the tutelage of the great Oliver Davis.” She teased, “Nor did they have the help of the fantastic Madoka Mori. I'd throw Koujo in too, but I have no idea how much he would have actually helped as opposed to have been a silent statue.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper at the last words, glancing around with a mischievous look on her face like Lin would appear out of no-where and catch them.

Laughing, Mai had to admit Madoka had a point. Lin and her had gotten along fairly well towards the second half of their time together, but they – or rather Lin - spent the time up until the Urado case glaring at her and over all ignoring her presence ninety percent of the time.

Before Mai even realised, they had made their way across the entire building into a different section that most likely wasn't open to everyone. Glancing around, she spotted a few of the other bigger names that had been mentioned as lecturers sitting at some of the tables that were set up.

Noticing her look, Madoka winked at her. “We figured it would be easier for everyone if there was a separate area for those of us who are a little more well-known to eat.” She admitted.

Mai grinned at her admission. “By which you mean, Lin and Naru didn't want to put up with real people asking stupid questions and demanded somewhere a little quieter.” She theorised, her voice mimicking the whisper that Madoka had used earlier and causing the woman to laugh loudly.

“Got it in one.”

Spotting Luella sitting at one of the tables, she waved to the woman, smiling widely.

It wasn't long before she was taking a seat between the two women.

“Oliver and Lin are running a little behind, but they should be here towards the end of lunch, so why don't we go ahead and grab ourselves something first?” Luella suggested after ten minutes passed and she'd checked her phone to see where the others were.

Part of Mai was relieved by the delay. Even though she wasn't _worried_ about seeing them again after so long, she was still nervous about seeing how they'd changed.

Nodding in agreement to Luella's plan, they got up and made their way over to the buffet style spread of food across a few tables that were pushed off to the side.

Grabbing a plate, they each piled food onto their plates before grabbing a drink – Mai grabbing a bottle of water for herself – and retaking their seats from earlier.

It didn't take long for conversation to pick back up and Mai found herself laughing more than she ever thought possible as they chatted, Luella revealing things Naru did when he was younger and Madoka recounting her engagement to Lin.

“He was so nervous; I've never seen him like that before.” The pink-haired woman gossiped, a sigh of happiness leaving her mouth as she leaned back, her own plate finished and a smile on her face.

Mai who had long since finished, having spent to majority of the time listening, couldn't help but smile softly at her friend. “I'm glad. I better be getting an invitation.” She threatened jokingly.

Madoka grinned back at her. “Of course. Although it's quite a distance for you to go for a wedding. Will you need any financial help? And what about work, will you be able to take time off? What do you do these days anyways?”

Across from Madoka, Luella covered her mouth with a small gasp before giving Mai an apologetic look. “I'm so sorry. I got so caught up in story telling that I haven't even asked anything about yourself.” She apologised.

The youngest woman shook her worries away, arms waving in front of her to try and placate the blonde.

“It's fine. I love listening to stories like this and I would have asked for them anyway. There's plenty of time for us to catch up and get to know each other since I'm assuming you'll be here every day for the convention, right?”

Luella looked unsure but nodded her head to tell Mai that she was right, and Mai grinned brightly. “See? No harm done. But more importantly, no, I don't need any financial help in coming to your wedding and I doubt my boss will have any complaints either. So don't worry about such unimportant details.” She scolded Madoka, turning to face her with a stern look on her face.

Madoka smiled back at her. “If you say so, I just thought I'd check.”

Before their conversation could pick back up again though, Mai felt the presence of someone walking up behind them.

“Hello Madoka, Mother.” A deep voice spoke in a familiar timber.

A second presence appeared beside Naru, moving towards Madoka to stand next to her.

“Good afternoon Luella, Madoka.” Another familiar voice spoke.

There was a small flutter of excitement in Mai's stomach and she fought to keep a giant grin from spreading over her face.

Madoka grinned. “Good afternoon you two. Are you not going to greet our other companion?” She asked, a slight reprimand in her tone.

Mai could almost feel the annoyance radiate off of Naru at her words and she fought hard not to giggle.

Twisting slightly in her seat so that she had a better view of Lin and Naru, she smiled sweetly.

“Good afternoon Lin _-san_ , Davis- _san_. Ahh, although I guess it should be Mr. Lin and Dr. Davis now, right?” She thought, making a show of muttering to herself while tilting her head.

Okay, so she wasn't completely over the whole “Oliver Davis” thing. But could you blame her? Two years she worked for Naru and neither of them had said a thing!

There was a long pause of silence before Oliver spoke finally.

“Taniyama- _san_.” He said finally.

Mai couldn't help but choke out a laugh at how _wrong_ it sounded to hear her family name from his lips.

“Who are you imitating? Lin?” She scoffed.

There was a tug at his lips. “You started it.” He pointed out, simply.

Pouting, Mai crossed her arms. “Uh, no, you started it. _I_ wasn't the one who lied about who they were for two years.”

There was a flash of something – regret maybe? - in his eyes for a moment before he tilted his head in concession.

“And perhaps I feel like it's no longer _proper_ to call you by your first name given those circumstances.” He argued back.

The brunette rolled her eyes at him. “Please, since when have you _ever_ cared for propriety?”

From nearby, Madoka giggled at Mai's response. “She has a point Oliver, but I can't take _either_ of you seriously when you speak so formally to each other.” She admitted.

From her seat at the table Luella continued to watch on, curious. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from the young girl when she'd interacted with her son, but this was definitely not it, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of things. But there was a distinct lack of surprise from Lin and Madoka so she could only assume that this was how those two had been from the start. The thought made her curious to hear more and made her lament the fact that until now, she hadn't asked anything about what Noll was like while in Japan.

Mai's laugh of agreement snapped Luella out of her thoughts.

“I suppose you're right. I can't even take myself seriously.”

From beside her, Oliver scoffed. “Is that a new low for you?” He asked, voice cold with the slightest bit of a tease in it.

It took a moment for Mai to stop herself from wanting to kill him for that comment, her face flushed slightly in abated anger before she did the most mature thing she could think of... and stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation.

“Thanks for reminding me that you _earned_ that nickname.” She huffed out.

Oliver smirked. “And what nickname would that be?”

Madoka's eyes widened slightly and she glanced to her fiancé before looking back over at them and then back at him.

Was Oliver... _flirting_?! While she had expected a lot from him after seeing Mai for the first time in five years this was a little more than even she dreamed of. He was practically asking Mai to call him by the nickname that _she'd_ given him.

Mai quirked an eyebrow at his attitude. “Surely your memory is good enough that you can recall such a simple word, Mr. Narcissist?”

Standing in front of her, Oliver couldn't help the smirk on his face at the familiar words. It wasn't his nickname, but it was close enough for now.

He wasn't sure why he wanted to hear her say the name that he'd been dubbed years ago so badly, but he didn't really want to dwell on the thought. It had been five years and the emotions that Mai had somehow always managed to stir up in him still alluded his understanding. And if he was being honest with himself – for once – it didn't bother him all that much.

“As interesting as it is to watch the two of you argue, I'm afraid I need to go and get organised for my lecture since it's starting in twenty. I'll see you in the room Mai!” Madoka called to her, pushing up from her seat. “You're coming with me, right Koujo?”

The silent man could almost feel the not-so-subtle plot forming as his arm was tugged on.

Turning to Mai, he gave her a half smile. “It's good to see you, Taniyama _-san_.” He stated before turning to leave.

Mai giggled, warmth spreading through her at his words. “You too, Lin _-san_.” She agreed, watching as he let himself be pulled along by Madoka.

Luella laughed a little at them. “They really were made for each other.” She sighed.

Rolling his eyes, Oliver took over the seat that Madoka had been in. “They've been together for years at this point mother, surely that's enough time to stop gushing over their cuteness?”

The blonde pouted at her son. “Well, maybe I would, if my son would get into a relationship so that I can gush over _you_ instead.” She countered.

The cold look she got in response made her burst into giggles again. She never thought she'd say that she'd missed his cold attitude but, in this moment, there was nothing else she could have wanted more.

After all, it meant that Naru hadn't changed all that much over the past few years.

“It would seem like time has flown by, my dear. I had hoped to chat some more and get to know you.” Luella sighed, turning to Mai with a pout before something seemed to occur to her and she brightened up.

“Are you doing anything in particular tonight?” She inquired.

Mai blinked a little at the sudden question.

“Um, nothing important. Why?”

“How would you feel about going to dinner with us? It would be a perfect opportunity to meet Martin too since he got caught up today.”

The brunette bit her lip, unsure. Interrupting their lunch wasn't a huge issue but cutting in on their dinner seemed a little rude and she didn't want to intrude on family time.

As if sensing her dilemma, Naru fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Just say yes. Mother wouldn't have offered if she didn't want you there, idiot.” He pointed out.

Mai turned to him, intending to reply with something witty but clamped her mouth shut when she realised that she didn't have a real response to that.

“Jerk.” She muttered at the knowing smirk she got in return to her silence. “If you're sure I won't be intruding then I would love to Luella.”

Smiling widely, Luella looked down at her watch and gasped. “I'm afraid you're almost out of time if you want to catch Madoka's lecture this afternoon. Noll, you're going as well right? Would you mind escorting Mai back to the room?”

Mai wanted to argue but, before she could even think of something to say, Naru was getting up from his seat.

“Don't bother. We're both going to the same place anyway, stupid.” He teased.

Once again, he had a good point and Mai didn't really have anything to say.

“I didn't say anything!” She exclaimed indignantly as she pushed up from her seat to follow after him.

“But you were thinking of arguing. You still show all your thoughts on your face.”

Mai frowned at that. “Now you're just being rude.” She huffed.

Glancing over, Oliver sighed. “Am I ever anything _but_ rude?” He shot back, somewhat bitter at his own attitude.

The comment shocked Mai for a moment before she frowned further. “That's not true.” She muttered back after a moment of silence.

Naru glanced over at her, an inquisitive eyebrow raised at her response.

Crossing her arms, Mai looked ahead and decidedly focused on putting one foot in front of the other; determined not to look at him as thoughts of the one time he'd smiled kindly at her flashed through her mind.

 _'It's been years, you idiot. Stop it.'_ She scolded herself, hating the way that the memory still made her heartbeat faster and her cheeks flush slightly.

She was over him damn it, there was no reason to make this awkward.

Seeing the lecture room approaching, she did her best not to break out into a run to escape Naru's gaze that she could feel on her.

Stepping through the door, she glanced around before spotting a couple seats on the right-hand side of the room.

Walking over she sat down, not even surprised when Naru took a seat on her left-hand side without a second thought.

Ignoring him, she pulled out her notebook ready to make notes, reaching for a pen and keeping her eyes trained in front of her.

Oliver didn't know whether to be amused or irritated at the fact that Mai insisted on ignoring him all of sudden; but he didn't have time to really consider his feelings further because Madoka started talking and he found himself pulling out his own notebook to take any notes that might be useful for later on; although he doubted there would be anything that he didn't already know.

He noted that Mai had done the same thing.

Which triggered a more important question. Why was Mai even here? This was a parapsychology convention so he could only assume that she was still involved in ghost hunting in some form – not a surprise considering the people that she'd surrounded herself with – but if she was focused on that, did that mean she worked for a different company now?

The thought caused a twinge of annoyance that he couldn't quite place. Of course she had worked for other people over the years – he left her – them all really – without much warning at all. She would've had to make money somehow. He was being ridiculous.

It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on the subject anyway. He could only speculate for the moment but there was no doubt in his mind that between Madoka and his mother at dinner he would have answers soon enough.

With that thought in mind, he redirected his attention back to Madoka's lecture, a little shocked to find that it was almost over.

Had he really been distracted for so long?

Glancing over, he spotted a collection of neat _kanji_ and _hiragana_ mixed with some English, as opposed to traditional _katakana,***_ written on the pages of Mai's book.

As Madoka finished up her lecture, Naru tore his eyes away from Mai's work and flipped his own notebook closed, tucking it away in his pocket once more.

Pushing himself up from his seat, he turned to Mai to see her jotting down a final note before closing her own book.

“Hurry up. I want to beat the crowd.” He informed her impatiently.

Mai rolled her eyes as she put her notebook into her bag and slung it over her shoulder as she stood up. “No-one said you had to wait for me.” She pointed out.

Noll didn't deign that with a response, instead moving towards the doors to leave. Luckily for them, most people were hanging around in order to ask questions since that was the last lecture of the day.

Stepping out of the room, Mai sighed, stretching slightly and fighting back a yawn.

Her companion smirked. “Did you find Madoka's lecture _that_ boring?” He teased.

Shooting him a glare, Mai pouted. “That's not it at all, you jerk. I only arrived in England yesterday evening. My time zones are all mixed up.” She grumbled.

Naru didn't respond, walking towards the same back area that they'd been in earlier to eat.

“I'm assuming that Mother didn't give you any details for when dinner would be, or where. If you'd prefer, we can grab you on our way.” He offered after a moment of silence. “That way I can be sure that you'll be on time for once in your life.”

Mai shook her head quickly, intentionally ignoring the bait (take that Naru, she has matured!). “You don't need to bother with all that, I can just grab a taxi if you let me know where you're going.” She denied quickly. It was bad enough that she was intruding on their dinner, let alone riding with them for _kami's_ sake.

It took everything Oliver had not to roll his eyes at the predictable response. “Where are you staying at the moment?”

Mai blinked at the sudden change. “The Athenaeum. Why?”

As always, she was such an easy target. Naru smirked. “Because I'll be picking you up at six o'clock sharp so make sure you're ready.” He informed her.

Mai's eyes widened before she glared. “I told you, I can get there just fine on my own.” She argued.

“How? You don't know what it's called, and I don't intend to tell you.”

The brunette eyed him silently in an attempt to figure out whether or not he was being serious; before concluding that he was, in fact, being extremely serious.

“You're such a jerk.” She groused, giving in.

The look she got in response was entirely unapologetic.

Glancing down at the time on her phone, Mai sighed. “I'm going to have to be on my way if I intend to be ready in time for tonight. Here's my current number if you need to reach me before then.” She informed him, pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling on it quickly before handing it to him.

Noll nodded in understanding, taking the paper and tucking it inside his jacket with his notebook. He'd put it into his phone later on.

“In that case, I'll walk you outside.”

Just like most things out of Naru's mouth, it was more of an indisputable fact then a legitimate offer.

Recalling how her attempt to disagree with such offers went only minutes ago she opted to just go with it instead of arguing further.

“Are you pretending to be a gentleman with real manners for some reason? You know I'm already aware of how lacking you are in that department, right?” Mai couldn't help but tease as she followed after him, laughing when he made it a point to open the door and wave her through politely first, instead of responding anything verbal.

Walking next to him towards the exit, she could feel eyes on her from a variety of people, many of them glaring, but a few of them more shocked and confused then anything. She tried not to pay any attention to it.

Stepping outside, Mai smiled at Naru. “I'll be okay from here. Go find your mother and Madoka before they decide to take over the world or something.” She joked, keeping an eye on the streets.

Oliver rolled his eyes at her. “If my Mother and Madoka decided to take over the world then my being there wouldn't do anything more than encourage them.” He responded, stepping further out onto the pavement to wave down a taxi that he spotted for Mai.****

Mai's smile was softer for a moment while Naru was distracted. He really was being a gentleman today.

As the taxi came to a stop on the corner, Mai stepped up to it and opened the door. Turning to Naru, she grinned. “I'll see you in a couple hours.” She promised.

“Six o'clock sharp. Don't get distracted.” He reminded mildly, smirking as she huffed at him making a jab at her for the second time in less than half an hour.

“I got it already.” She grumbled, shutting the door before he could say anything else and turning to the driver, listing off her hotel and waving to Naru as the driver pulled back onto the road.

It was a pretty quiet ride, Mai handing over the money and thanking her driver before stepping out and heading back up to her room.

It wasn't until she got to her room and stepped inside that she had to stop and think.

“Crap, what am I going to wear?”

Her voice rang out loudly in the otherwise empty room as she made a sudden dash for her bag. She knew that there were a few nicer things in there for if she had to do some networking that Ayako and Yasu both insisted on (that she was going to be so thankful for in a few minutes), plus the dress she planned to wear to the fund-raising ball later in the week.

But this wasn't just some dinner – this was a dinner with _Naru_ and his _family_.

Nerves were suddenly eating at her like nothing else as she tried to figure out what would be the best thing for tonight.

Biting her lip, she eyed her phone that she'd thrown to the side haphazardly in an attempt to make it to her bag faster.

She shouldn't. It was gone one in the morning for them in Japan.

 _'But if it's Yasu then he'll probably still be up'_ She reminded herself, trying not to feel guilty as she pressed on his number before she could think too much further on the subject.

Part of her hoped that he wouldn't pick up, but as the call rang out and she heard someone pick up on the other end, she sucked in a nervous breath.

Now, if only she could make it through this call without him being annoying.

 _'That'll be the day.'_ She thought, moving to lay on the bed.

It was going to be a long night.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*This is a real location but I don't know anything about it as a place. I literally just went through google to find somewhere fancy for Mai to stay.

**There is a nine hour time difference so even though it's only 6.30pm in London, it would feel like 3.30am for her since that's the time it would be in Japan in that moment.

***In Japan they use three alphabets or scripts to write. The first is hiragana which is traditional Japanese script, the second is Katakana which is the script they use whenever writing a word that was not originally Japanese such as western names or places. The last is kanji which are characters that originated in China but made their way into Japanese script and are now an integral part of their writing system. It is also important to note if you aren't already aware that Naru's understanding of kanji is limited – and yes this is canonical.

****Okay so I’m reasonably sure that in England it's a “hail” system but here in Australia and I'm pretty sure in Japan as well (or at least what I saw while I was there), we call for our taxi services so I’m sorry if this is incorrect or written weirdly – it's just not something we do. The only thing we hail are buses (something I have next to no experience with) and for Mai, she grew up in Tokyo which means her primary source of transport would have been the train which you definitely don't have to hail so I feel like this would be something she'd be unused to. Hopefully I conveyed Naru understanding that and helping her out in his own way well enough?

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the next chapter! The response for this has been amazing, you guys are way too nice. This chapter was written at the same time as the previous one so the flow should be really nice. The ending however was completely unplanned. Like, I was writing and I knew I had to end it somewhere (it was hard enough to try and split the chapters before) and before I knew it, the line had written itself (just like this entire story so far – the number of breakdowns I nearly had because for a week a couldn't write anything but this which has never happened to me before). Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter just as much.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Two**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

“ _Mai?”_

Mai sighed at how chipper and awake he sounded as she snapped out of her melodramatic thoughts. _“Did you even plan on sleeping tonight?”_ She asked, a little concerned, stalling on the actual subject.

There was a snort on the other end, and she shook her head, a fond smile forming on her face.

“ _You didn't call me to discuss my sleeping habits – and don't think I’m not aware that yours are way worse than mine, Miss. Hypocrite. Now what's up?”_

Mai rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else on the subject because he was definitely right.

“ _Okay, so basically, I ran into Madoka and Naru's mother today at the convention and from there I ended up seeing Naru and Lin as well – they're doing fine by the way – and somehow ended up invited to a dinner with them all and now I don't know what to wear.”_ She rattled off as quickly as possible, her cheeks flushing.

The other end was silent before there was loud laughter from her best friend.

Pouting, Mai glared even though he couldn't see it.

“ _Yasu, this is serious! If you don't intend to help me then I'll call someone else, you jerk.”_

“ _I'm sorry Mai. It's just such a rom-com situation that I can't help myself. I'll help though, I promise. In exchange, make sure you let me know all the good details on how things go with Big Boss.”_

Mai flushed further at the tone of Yasu's voice. _“Yasu.”_ She hissed, scandalised, _“It's with his_ family _as well. And even if it wasn't there's no way anything would happen.”_

On the other end, Yasu rolled his eyes at his friend before sighing. 'Then why are you so worried about what you wear then?' Is what he wanted to say, but he didn't. It would only serve to make her hang up on him and if that happened then he couldn't play a part in getting those two together and that just wasn't worth it.

“ _Fine. You know the light pink vintage style dress* I made you pack? Wear that with the silver flats that you packed, and you'll be fine.”_

Mai let out a sigh of relief at his words.

“ _Okay. Thanks, Yasu, you're a life saver. I'll let you know how everything goes when I get another chance to call you; but I need to go and get ready if I don't want to be late.”_

“ _Go on Mai. Have fun!”_

“ _Goodnight!”_ She offered before hanging up and moving to put her phone on charge so it wouldn't run out on her while she was out.

Grabbing the aforementioned dress, she headed to the bathroom to get ready.

A quick shower later found the brunette with a hair dryer and hairbrush.

 _'Maybe I should cut my hair short again? This was never such an issue then'_ She groused as she untangled another knot from her hair. It wasn't long per-say, but even with it just past her shoulders it was a lot longer than she usually kept it.

After what felt like years, her hair was dry and brushed, her dress* was on, she added a touch of lip gloss – forgoing proper make-up even though she did have it and would probably wear it for the night of the ball.

Giving herself a once over in the mirror, she nodded happily at herself after a moment. She exited the bathroom and grabbed her handbag, putting her phone inside after checking the time so that she wouldn't forget it.

Even though there was another thirty minutes until it was time to head down to the lobby, Mai wasn't sure whether to sit down and work on anything. Thinking about how things had gone last night when she'd planned to write for a little bit, she hesitated before deciding to just sit down and answer a couple of e-mails.

Setting an alarm on her phone so that she wouldn't lose track of time too much, she took a seat on the chair in front of the desk and opened her laptop to get started.

Just like last night, she was soon distracted and before she knew it, there was a sound interrupting her focus.

It took a moment before she realised that it was her alarm going off.

Looking down, she winced at seeing that it had taken her a couple minutes to notice it going off and now she would only have a minute to get downstairs.

Saving her current e-mail as a draft, Mai shut the lid carefully before grabbing her bag; throwing her phone back in as she raced towards the door. Stopping for a second, she slipped on the silver flats before racing out the door, making sure the door was locked before taking off down the hall, her dress rustling with the movement as she made it to the elevator.

Her foot tapped impatiently as she waited for it to arrive.

The second the doors opened, Mai stepped in, pressing the button to get them to close straight away. As the elevator slowly descended, she couldn't help but think that there was no way Naru wasn't going to call her on this.

 _'Five years and yet some things never change.'_ She thought to herself.

As the doors opened, she stepped out into the lobby and immediately spotted Naru, who looked a mixture of amused and exasperated with a touch of his signature irritation.

Walking across the lobby to meet him, she fought the urge to run again and instead focused on trying not to look like an idiot with all these people around.

Naru smirked. “I could have sworn I said to I’d be here at six o'clock on the dot. Is your boss in the habit of letting you get away with being late? Or is this a trait you reserve specially to irritate me?”

Mai huffed. “Hello to you too Naru. I'm only a couple of minutes behind for a personal engagement. The only one who's so worried about timing is you.” She shot back before rolling her eyes. “Always such a narcissist. I don't aim to be behind schedule, sometimes things just happen. And my current boss is _very_ understanding of that.”

The blank look she got in response made her bite her lip a little to avoid grinning. Even though she wasn't aiming for it, Naru's irritation was still a good source of amusement for her and after so long without it, she couldn't help but feel happy.

Sighing, Naru turned to walk towards the entrance again. “I'm not going to stand here and debate over this further with you. You're going to make us even later than we already are.”

Rolling her eyes, Mai followed him, unsurprised when they came to a stop in front of a fancy looking car.

Pressing the button to unlock it, Naru slipped into the driver's seat leaving Mai to slip into the passenger side.

Settling in, Mai placed her handbag on her lap, the car silent as Naru pulled out onto the road.

“So, will you tell me where we are going to dinner since you've already achieved your goal?” Mai asked after a moment, glancing over at Naru.

Oliver smirked. “You don't need to know.” He informed simply, intentionally trying to rile her up.

Without thinking, Mai took the bait, cheeks flushing in anger as she glared at him.

“What the heck is that supposed to mean? It's not going to hurt to know!”

His face remained unchanged as he fought the urge to smirk further.

_'So easy.'_

“And it won't change anything if you do, ergo you don't need to know.”

The response was so simple and cold that Mai couldn't help the flush of familiarity even as her anger grew at his ridiculous responses.

“Do you always have to be such a jerk about everything?!” She demanded.

Naru pretended to think about it for a moment before glancing over at her.

“I've always been a jerk – it's not like this is new to you. I can't change my personality Mai.” He informed her; voice slightly colder than intended. Noll could have cursed himself for displaying such an obvious weakness.

Of course, Mai picked up on it straight away but before she could say any more on the subject Naru was pulling into a carpark swiftly and switching the car off.

“Come on. We're still on time; which is miraculous considering how much time I lost because of your being late.”

Immediately all thought of figuring out what was going on in Naru's head flew out of her head as she stepped out of the car, shutting the door while glaring at him.

“I wasn't that behind!” She insisted.

“Late is late, Mai. Five minutes or fifty – you are still late.” He pointed out, making her splutter in irritation.

Good.

If she was focusing on his words, then she wouldn't think about what had happened in the car.

Walking towards the entrance to the restaurant, Naru rolled his eyes at the curious look on Mai's face as she looked around.

It wasn't too fancy, but it was definitely more high-end than Mai was used to going to.

Pulling open the door, he raised an eyebrow at the shocked look on Mai's face.

“I did open the door for you earlier. Or has your brain already reached the point where it can no longer remember details from only a few hours ago?” He quipped.

The brunette huffed, slipping through the door and then waiting for Naru to walk in himself.

“I'm aware of that. But when you did it earlier it was to _spite_ me. This is just getting weird.” She insisted.

A dull sense of irritation flared in him before he squashed it.

“Well then in future I’ll be sure to leave you to open your own doors.” He responded primly causing Mai to flush.

“That's not what I meant!”

He fought the urge to smirk at the predictable response.

“Then what did you mean?”

Mai flushed, crossing her arms and looking down at the ground.

“ _Kami,_ you're such a jerk.” She mumbled.

Satisfied that things were back to normal, Naru ignored her before walking up to the server.

“I'm with the party who reserved under the name Luella Davis. Is everyone else here?” Naru asked, voice cold even as the lady gave him a flirtatious look and smiled.

“Of course. The rest of your party is already here. I'll show you to them right away.” She informed him.

Mai supposed she shouldn't be surprised by the lady’s reaction, but part of her couldn't help the pang of jealousy that she felt.

 _'No Mai. You don't need to be jealous. You got over Naru years ago. Years! Stop it.'_ She coached herself.

Following after Naru, her jealousy was completely forgotten as they reached the table and Mai saw the smiling faces of Luella and Madoka.

Grinning at them, she was even happier when, after taking a seat between Madoka and Naru (who took the seat at the head of the table – something Mai was utterly unsurprised by for obvious reasons) – Mai was even happier to see Naru ignore the server who was trying her best to get Naru's attention and failing hard.

“Someone will be over to take your drink orders shortly.” She informed them after a moment, smiling one more time at Naru and looking extremely annoyed when he didn't even glance back at her.

Rolling her eyes at his predicted lack of manners, Mai smiled at the girl. “Thank you.”

Seeing that she was being dismissed the girl turned heel in a huff, moving back towards her post.

Madoka giggled. “I see things are normal for Oliver.” She commented, even more gleeful at the glare she got for her comment.

“It's annoying.” Was the only response she got making the pink-haired woman roll her eyes.

“And yet, so many other men would kill to be in your position. Honestly, Oliver. You'll never get a girlfriend this way.” She sighed dramatically.

Mai blinked before turning to Naru. “A girlfriend? Does Madoka not realise that you married your work years ago? Or did you divorce it in the past five years?” She inquired; voice purposefully dumbed down, her head titled slightly in consideration.

The shocked laugh it pulled from Luella and _Lin_ (how was that for a confidence boost? Yasu would be so proud) was well worth the glare she got in response from Naru.

“I'm afraid not Taniyama _-san_. He's as attached to his work as ever.” Lin informed her, a smirk tugging on his lips when the glare was turned to him instead.

“You're being ridiculous.” Oliver declared after a moment.

Luella laughed from his other side.

“Now, now, let's not give Noll too much trouble. Hello dear. This is my husband, Martin. Martin, honey, this is Mai Taniyama. She used to work for Noll back in Japan and she met up with us at the paranormal convention earlier today.”

She resolutely ignored Oliver's correction of it being a _parapsychology_ convention _not_ a paranormal convention.

Mai smiled brightly at the older man with greying brown hair and offered her hand to him.

“It's wonderful to meet you Dr. Davis.” She informed him, glad that she remembered that they shook hands here and didn't make a fool of herself.

Part of her was tempted to add, 'I wish I could say I’ve heard a lot about you but since I didn't even know you were Naru's parents until he _left_ five years ago...' but she forced herself to keep that petty part of her locked up tight. She's already given in once today and nothing good would come of reminding them of how things ended in Japan.

Smiling kindly at her, Martin shook her hand easily.

“It's lovely to meet you as well Miss. Taniyama. I've only ever heard good things about you.” He informed her, thinking on what he actually already knew about the young girl in front of him from speaking with Madoka and reading the case reports from Lin and Noll.

Mai laughed lightly. “Please call me Mai. And I can actually believe that given how little Lin and Naru talk.”

The older man couldn't help but chuckle at her response. “Yes, I suppose it is true that I've only ever heard of you from Madoka.” He couldn't help but agree. “But I'm sure if Lin and Noll were asked about you, I would only hear lovely things then too.”

The brunette gave him a disbelieving look. “It's a nice thought, but an unlikely one.” She argued lightly.

Luella pouted a little at the easy denial from Mai. She was such a lovely girl, why would either of them have reason to complain?

As if on cue Noll smirked.

“She was almost always late – something that hasn't changed.” He started, easily ignoring Mai's indignant exclamation of “Two minutes for a _social engagement_ is not late, you jerk!”, “Reckless; never knew how to follow instructions; always ran off on her own; constantly got herself in trouble; constantly kept important case information from me.” - once again he ignored her response of “You kept _most_ case information from _us”_ \- “Fell asleep on the job more often than not,” - “That's just mean, you know that the only way I can have psychic dreams is by sleeping” - “and was always extremely loud. That's just to name a _few._ ”

Mai glared at him; cheeks flushed in embarrassment at his words.

“ _Why do you always have to be such a bastard? Would it have killed you to just,_ not? _”_ She demanded, slipping into Japanese without meaning to.

Oliver took the switch with ease.

“ _Mother was confused as to whether you had bad traits or not. I was simply making sure she didn't remain so uninformed_.” He responded, his amusement not betrayed in his voice, but Mai could spot the minute details on his face even after all this time.

 _'That's a new shade of red.'_ He noted.

Throwing her hands up, Mai shook her head. “You're impossible.” She decided, switching back to English after seeing the confused look on Martin's face.

Luella shook her head at her son's antics, aware that she had been the one to trigger that onslaught for the poor girl. Yet, part of her couldn't bring herself to be too disappointed in Noll. Not when his little 'rant' – Oliver would insist that he _never_ ranted – had given her a lot of insight not only into how things were when they were in Japan, but also into the relationship between the two of them. Even though she'd caught a glimpse of it earlier, watching the two of them argue once more made it all the more clear.

The slightly fond look of veiled amusement on Lin's face caught her attention as well. It would seem that this really was just how the two of them interacted normally. It was more emotion than she'd seen from Noll in the last five years combined – and that was only including tonight's dinner so far.

“Surely you can say more than just rude things about the poor girl! Honestly Noll.” Luella scolded slightly after waiting a moment.

Before he could reply, Mai cut in. “That's all right, Luella. I'm more than used to it at this point. The day when I get a compliment out of Naru will be the day that pigs fly.” She informed Luella with a small smile.

Naru frowned slightly at this but before he could make a comment on it, the waiter showed up to take drink orders.

Mai was probably just as relieved at Naru to see that their waiter for the night would be a male and not a female.

“A bottle of Moscato for the table please dear. Did you want wine Mai, or something different?” Luella inquired, looking at the brunette.

Mai shook her head. “I'll just have water thank you.” She stated, smiling. “Thank you though.”

The blonde-haired woman seemed unsure but let it go.

“Alright then. Are the rest of you happy with just Moscato then?” She inquired, glancing around. “I know Noll will only have water. What about you Lin?”

The Chinese man shook his head slightly. “I'll stick to water as well.”

Pouting, Luella muttered “Boring.” – much to everyone's amusement – before letting the waiter go.

“I suppose we should think about what we're going to eat.” She stated.

Mai blinked before realising that in all the excitement she hadn't even glanced at the menu yet.

Picking it up, she read over the English with ease, debating over what to get. There were a variety of things on the menu, mostly different meats with salad or vegetable side dishes.

Skimming over them, she decided on the Chicken Kiev with chips** and salad fairly easily.

It didn't take the other's long to decide either.

Waving down the waiter, they all put their orders in, thanking the waiter politely when he left.

“So, Mai. What do you do for work? Surely you must do something with the paranormal to be attending a parapsychology convention.” Martin inquired after a beat of silence, giving the young girl his full attention.

Madoka lit up, turning to her friend. “Oh, that's right! I got distracted earlier so you never did tell me what you do for work these days. And when I sent Yasu a text about it earlier he just told me that it was 'top secret'.” She informed, pouting at the response the younger man had given her.

Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes. “I forgot that you and he still keep in regular contact. And while I do still dabble in ghost hunting on occasion, I'm actually here just for research purposes.” She responded, thinking about how to broach the subject of her actual job.

“Oh? Your job requires research into parapsychology or ghost hunting?” Martin inquired, even more intrigued now.

Tilting her head, Mai bit at her lip. “Not exactly. It's not a _requirement_ , mostly I find it fascinating. But it does help me with some things.” She revealed.

Luella laughed at the look of frustration on her family’s faces.

“You might want to give them a straight answer. Madoka looks like she's ready to strangle you.” She encouraged Mai.

The brunette giggled. “I suppose so.” She agreed, despite the urge to keep them in the dark. It was good to have the upper-hand for a change – especially when it came to Madoka. “I'm actually a published writer.”

There was a moment of shocked silence before Luella jumped in. “A writer? What kind of writer? Anything we might know?” She asked, extremely curious now. It was definitely not the kind of job she expected such a sweet girl to have. _'I would never have pegged her as a ghost hunter either though.'_ Luella admitted to herself. And it was so clear from the sparkle in the girl's eye whenever ghost hunting was brought up that she was as much of a ghost hunter as any of the other loons at their table.

“I don't know if you'll have read any of it. I'm a horror writer primarily.” Mai divulged, her thoughts wandering for a moment.

There was no way that Naru had read any of her work because it was all fiction – even if she did her best to keep the parapsychology details as on point as possible – and Martin didn't seem like the type either. Lin might but Mai honestly had no idea what kind of things he would read outside of non-fiction works. Maybe Madoka?

“Oh? I think Madoka is a huge fan of horror works, right?” Luella thought aloud, directing her question towards her pink-haired friend.

Madoka hummed in agreement.

“That's true. I read them in English and Japanese. I haven't heard of anything being released by you though?” She said.

Giggling at her friend, Mai rolled gave her an expectant look. “Really Madoka, I'm a writer. How many writer's do you know that _don't_ use a pen name?”

The woman looked openly shocked for a second before laughing. “I can think of a few, but I get the point. So, what name do you write under then?”

Even Lin looked interested at this point and the attention made Mai a little twitchy.

“I usually use the pen name _Fuji Katsumi._ ” The brunette admitted after a moment of silence.

There was an even longer beat before Madoka let out a very loud shout.

“You're joking! Please tell me you're joking. There's no way!” She ranted, quietening when Lin put a hand on her arm.

Luella coughed a little to cover her laugh at the response from her friend.

“I'm not much of a horror reader, but I'm going to assume that you're doing pretty well at the moment?” She guessed.

Madoka threw her hands up. “Pretty well. _Pretty well?_ Luella, she's award winning! Fuji Katsumi's works are some of the most sought after on the market. She hasn't written a single thing that didn't become a hit. Critics are calling her one of the greatest writers of this age. They're saying that she'll become the next _Stephen King_ , for God's sake.”*** She ranted.

Flushing at the rant coming from her friend, Mai gave her an awkward smile before bringing her hands up to do jazz hands. “Ta da?”

The look she got in return made her laugh slightly.

“At least I know why Yasu didn't tell me what you did.” Madoka admitted, “I've been hooked on your stuff since the first time I read one of your books and he knows it. Actually, I think he's the one who first recommended it to me.”

Rolling her eyes, Mai couldn't say that she was surprised. Her friend always did have a flair for the dramatic.

“Well, now you know. So it doesn't really matter, does it?” She pointed out, smiling.

Giggling now that she'd calmed down, Madoka nodded. “I guess that's true. I'm still going to shout at him later though.” She concluded.

Mai didn't respond to that, Yasu had brought it upon himself after all. And he definitely hadn't told _Mai_ about the fact that Madoka was such a big fan or she wouldn't have told her while still inside the restaurant. At least she knew for a fact that Madoka's genre of choice was Horror. It was like she didn't get enough in real life.

Seeing that his employee and friend had calmed down, Martin smiled at the embarrassed girl.

“You use parapsychology research in your writing?” He inquired, even more intrigued now that he knew what the research was for.

Nodding, Mai took a sip of her water before responding. “Yes. Mostly I use my own experience in the field but having other's experiences and suggestions on hand is good for inspiration and I like to keep things as close to factual as possible despite the fiction genre. It makes things scarier – which is the point of a horror novel after all.” She explained. “I was actually invited here for that reason. When my publishing company received the invitation, they all but kicked me out of the office and to the airport. They thought it would be good for me to get away from Japan and experience different cultures and gain some more insight into the topic so that I could continue keeping my writing fresh. They figured after such a good track history I was bound to stagnate. I wasn't going to argue with an expense paid trip overseas.”

Lin's lips twitched at that admission and Martin chuckled. “No, I don't suppose you would.” He agreed.

Thinking over her words, Martin frowned after a moment.

“Now that you mention it though, it sounds like you've written quite a lot. But it's only been five years since Noll was in Japan and you hadn't published anything back then. How many works do you have?” He inquired.

Before Mai could respond though, Lin cut in.

“Fuji Katsumi has eleven published works at this current time.” He informed Martin.

Mai's eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look over at him in confusion.

His lips twitched again at the look on her face.

“Madoka has every single one of your books proudly displayed in English and Japanese at home.” He informed her simply.

In truth, he too had dabbled in her work on occasion after Madoka rebuked his comment on how “Surely they can't be that realistic?” with a response of “There hasn't been a misstep in parapsychology knowledge or ghost hunting techniques in a single one of her works so far.”.

He was fully willing to admit – only to himself though – that he'd gone in intending to prove his fiancé wrong and instead found himself drawn into the plot line and without any misleading information on his field of practice to show for it.

Martin eyed Mai with an impressed look.

“That's two books a year and then some assuming you started publishing the year after Noll left Japan.” He calculated.

The brunette hummed in agreement. “I did start publishing about six months after Naru and Lin left Japan, yes. I usually publish three books a year, but I always have a few in the works. I tend to get distracted if I only have one thing to keep my attention.” She admitted sheepishly.

For the first time since they'd started on this subject Mai heard Naru scoff.

Glancing over, prepared to start an argument, the brunette found herself being cut off by the arrival of their food. Luella opened the wine that had gotten forgotten on the table while they were distracted before.

Trying to turn the topic of conversation away from herself, Mai looked over at Luella.

“Well, now that you know what I do, I'd love to know about what you do with your time.” She suggested, smiling sweetly.

Agreeing that the girl could use a break, Luella smiled back at her and launched into a conversation about her psychology research and the classes she taught at Cambridge.

Interested in the subject, Mai focused all her attention on the older woman as she explained some of the things that the first years were studying.

Noting her interest in the subject, Luella grinned. She loved finding someone else who enjoyed her passion. Even though she was surrounded by parapsychology lovers, they weren't nearly the same as psychology lovers.

“If you were interested and have time while you're here, you're welcome to sit in on some of our lectures if you'd like.” Luella offered the girl.

Mai blinked at the sudden offer before smiling. “I should have time. But are you sure it's okay?” She asked, a little worried. She wasn't paying for the class; would she really be allowed to attend.

The older woman waved her off easily, laughing. “Don't worry about that. I didn't think you'd have an interest in psychology though?” She led.

Humming, Mai shrugged slightly. “I have an interest in a lot of things these days. My passion will always be writing but I find that research into other topics really helps me to impact the audience. Psychology is a really good way to improve that. Plus, it's just an interesting topic.”

Madoka nodded. “I could never get into it on the same level, but I do see the appeal. If you're going to sit in on some of those lectures, then you should attend some of the parapsychology ones as well. Martin and Luella both hold a class on Tuesday's so if you visit Cambridge then, you'll be able to catch them both. I'd be happy to take you myself.” She offered.

Mai bit her lip. “I don't know. I'm not sure I’d be able to follow along well enough for it to mean much to me.” She worried.

Luella looked like she was going to make a comment, but Oliver beat her to it; the look on his face practically screaming that he thought she was being stupid.

“You spent two years working under me in the field, are a credited psychic and are currently attending the lectures for a parapsychology convention. If anything, you're overqualified for the classes that Father teaches.” He informed her.

Mai flushed at the sudden praise, unsure exactly how to respond. She'd been exaggerating when she mentioned that Naru had _never_ said anything nice about her (she pushed back the memory of the school hexer case firmly) but usually it was a lot more backhanded.

Madoka seemed to think the same thing, bumping her shoulder into Mai's with a teasing grin.

“Would you look at that. A genuine compliment in a very Naru-like form.” She teased, deferring to Mai's chosen nickname for Oliver.

Mai couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips as she tried to pout at her friends teasing.

“Well, I guess that if _Naru_ thinks I'll be able to understand it well enough than I don't really have any choice, do I?” She agreed, laughing slightly.

Smirking, Naru took a sip of his own water. “Of course you don't. They'd drag you along regardless. But I'm never wrong, so there's no need to concern yourself.”

Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes. “And he's back. Just when I was going to have to consider possession.” She joked.

“Are you implying that you wouldn't have been able to notice if a spirit had decided to possess me sooner than that?” Oliver couldn't help but ask, waiting for the expected response.

Huffing at his tone. “You know for a fact that even Medium's like Masako have days when they can't sense spirits. Seeing as I'm not a medium, I'm even more susceptible to these 'off days'.” She grouched, just as expected.

Raising an eyebrow, he took a pointed bite of his own food.

Martin chuckled as he observed the two, gaining the attention of Mai who gave him a confused look.

“Noll had just proved his point. You'll do just fine in my lecture even without the next couple days of conference lectures that you'll be attending.” He assured her.

Whipping her head back over to Naru, she gave him a disbelieving look that he decided not to respond to.

Madoka shook her head at the two of them.

“You two are hopeless, I swear.” She sighed, a grin pulling at her lips and ruining the effect.

As they all finished with their food, their waiter appeared again, taking their plates from them.

This time, however, with the current lull in the conversation, it was clear that perhaps having a male waiter _wasn't_ such a good thing.

Oliver was certainly starting to regret his earlier stance.

“Did you enjoy the meal?” The man asked Mai, shy smile tugging at his lips and making him look a specific 'boyish' type of handsome. The kind that made old ladies coo.

Mai smiled at him. “It was lovely.” She agreed.

“I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll be back shortly with some dessert menus for you to peruse.” He informed her.

Naru glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice as he left the table.

From beside Mai, Madoka giggled at the reaction and couldn't help but fuel the fire.

“Looks like you found yourself an _admirer_.” She teased.

Mai blinked, tilting her head in confusion. “What do you mean? He was just being friendly.” She insisted.

Hearing Lin scoff from the other side of Madoka, Mai's eyebrows furrowed.

“Mai, how often does that kind of thing happen and you just _assume_ they're being friendly?” Madoka inquired, even more curious when she noticed just how oblivious the younger girl apparently was to the affections of others.

Thinking about the question, Mai shrugged slightly. “People are usually friendly to me like that. It's not unusual. I'm a nice and social person. I end up in random conversations all the time and I almost never end up being asked out. You're just reading into things too much.”

Lin sighed, suddenly concerned. “Taniyama _-san_ , that may be the case in Japan, but I think you'll find that men in England who stop and speak with a pretty girl are actually trying to gage you before asking you out.” He informed her.

Mai was a little unsure what she should be more surprised by; Lin speaking such a long string of words to her or that said string of words was on the subject of _romance_ of all things.

“If you say so.” She agreed amicably, not wanting to get into the subject of romance too much further – at least in relation to herself. “But it doesn't really matter anyway. I'm not exactly living in England and I'm not one for hook ups or flings. And all of this excludes the fact that I'm as married to my own work as Naru is.”

This seemed to shock everyone at the table.

“You mean to tell me that you spend an average of eighteen to twenty hours a day on your work with minimal breaks when you're left to your own devices?” Luella demanded, a worried look on her face.

There was a sense of satisfaction at not being on the receiving end of that look for once that Oliver took sadistic glee in.

As if sensing his happiness, Mai shook her head quickly.

“I said I'm as married to my work as Naru, not that I have all his bad habits.” She denied quickly. “I take a break every four hours maximum to stretch my legs, I keep snacks at my desk for when I'm on a roll and can't get away from the work for long enough for a proper meal – although I do have at least one proper meal a day -, and I usually get between six and eight hours of sleep just like I should. I'll admit that I don't _always_ manage to stick to the schedule but it's pretty accurate. Outside of that though, I spend all my time on writing. Two to three books a year doesn't just _happen_.”

Luella eyed her suspiciously before concluding that she was telling the truth – as she well should considering Mai couldn't lie to save her life.

At least _most_ of the time.

Turning to Oliver, the blonde gestured towards Mai.

“You should take some cues on healthy working habits from Mai. Then I wouldn't have to worry about sending Madoka to you whenever she's at the office as well to make sure that you haven't gotten lost in your work and forgotten to eat for the past fourteen hours again.”

Mai blinked at the sudden information before turning a glare of her own to Naru.

“ _Fourteen hours?! For the love of Kami-sama, Naru! Are you really that incapable of keeping track of time and providing your body sustenance based on its needs?”_ She demanded.

Honestly, she left them alone for five years and this is what happens. Back when she worked at the office, Mai could make sure that the ate lunch on days whenever she worked weekends or was away from school, and she always brought dinner to them whenever they seemed like they were preoccupied. She'd even gone through the effort of figuring out which snacks he'd eat so that she could give him something with his tea on occasion. It would seem without that, Naru had forgotten how to eat without her there to force him to.

Noll wanted to argue against being coddled but the scientific way that Mai had structured her argument had given him pause for a moment.

Before he could finally respond though, Mai was turning her attention to Lin as well.

“ _You better not tell me that you're as bad as he is Lin, or so help me I'll make it my mission while in England to force feed the both of you.”_ She continued; her irritation practically palpable in the air.

Madoka giggled, ignoring the betrayed look that her fiancé gave her in response as she offered no help.

“ _I'm not nearly as bad.”_ Lin settled on, not wanting to lie to the girl but also not wanting the same dressing down that his charge was receiving.

It didn't seem like Mai was taking it though.

“ _That's a fancy way of saying that instead of going fourteen hours without food, you usually go twelve.”_ Mai retorted easily.

As usual, her instincts kicked in at the most inopportune moments for everyone else, hitting the nail on the head.

Madoka almost cackled at his being caught so easily. She was almost sorry that Martin was so lost with his lack of understanding since she was ranting in Japanese, but she'd be sure to fill him in later. He could probably guess what was happening based on the tone of Mai's voice and their previous topic of choice anyway.

Rubbing at his temples, Naru really wished this topic hadn't come up as he tried to think of a way to get Mai off her war path.

His mentor seemed to be against any of his hopes, however, something that wasn't really a surprise considering the woman basically lived to make his life more difficult.

“Now that I think about it, this might be their first meal for the day. Neither bothered with breakfast today and they joined us later for lunch and I didn't see either of them grab anything.” Madoka mused, a glint in her eyes.

Luella was enjoying this just as much. Her Japanese was rusty but certainly still good enough to follow along with the current stream.

Realising this, Mai glared harder at the both of them.

“ _This is ridiculous. You're both men of science. How is it, then, that the simple concept called “self-care” is such a hard topic for you to understand? You don't even need to stop working fully, just go grab something simple to eat and continue working while you eat.”_

Before her rant could pick up any more steam though, Martin decided it was time to stop things, feeling a little bad for the other men.

“Come now. I'm not exactly sure what you're scolding them for – although I can guess – but I'm sure they've learnt their lesson. With the convention over the next two days, you have the chance to make sure they eat lunch and you're more than welcome to join us for dinner those nights as well. I have some more things I'd like to discuss with you that I'm curious about.” He offered.

Mai sighed, taking a deep breath and then letting it go, smiling sweetly at Martin like she wasn't just ripping into two men, one of which was much older than herself.

“I would love to discuss things further with you, if you don't mind the intrusion that is.” She agreed easily, much more comfortable after the night’s events.

Luella tsk'ed. “We've been over this already. If we didn't want you there then we wouldn't offer. I for one have had a _brilliant_ time tonight and would love any chance to get to know you even better.” She insisted.

Flushing, Mai nodded in understanding. “Then I look forwards to it.”

As if sensing that there was finally a free moment – although perhaps in reality he had been keeping an eye on them and waiting for things to settle down again – their waiter appeared with the aforementioned dessert menus.

Mai took hers with a longing look as she flipped it open, biting her lip as she debated over getting something.

Even though she had more money than she knew what to do with these days, she still wasn't keen on spending it on frivolous items, instead putting it away.

Ayako had teased her, claiming that she was treating everything like some middle-aged housewife on minimum wage. Mai knew she was right, but it was hard to break sixteen years of habit in only five years.

When their waiter asked if they would like anything, he took notes down as Lin passed, Madoka getting a piece of chocolate mud cake to share. Martin ordered the mini pavlova and Luella requested a rocky road sundae.

Mai waited for Naru to respond in the negative.

“I'll have an earl grey tea and Mai will have the mud cake.” Oliver stated.

Her head turned to look over at him quickly, eyebrows furrowed.

The waiter seemed a little unsure, but Mai wasn't paying any attention, still trying to figure out Naru's angle. He _hated_ sweet things, with few exceptions. Mud cake was not one of them.

Seeing the dilemma on the poor man's face, Madoka smiled reassuringly.

“That will be everything, thank you.”

Nodding, the boy turned and walked away.

The two couples turned away from the younger two to give them a moment as Mai tried to figure out what to say.

At Mai's confusion, Naru only raised an eyebrow, smirk on his lips.

Huffing at his look, her eyes narrowed.

“What did you do that for? I didn't need anything.” She hissed quietly.

Noting that they were being ignored, Noll couldn't help but give an actual eye roll to her.

“You wanted it but didn't want to spend money on it even though I assume you make a lot these days.” He shot back; voice quiet as well as he gave her a knowing look.

“But-”

“Did I choose wrong?” Naru cut her off.

He was still smirking, the jerk.

“You know that you didn't.” She mumbled after a moment.

“Of course. I'm always right after all. Mud cake is your favourite western dessert – chocolate being your favourite flavour. You prefer _mochi_ **** when it comes to Japanese desserts though.”

Blushing, Mai huffed but didn't argue further. How could she when he was correct.

Mostly she was embarrassed (and happy) that he took enough notice to know which her favourites were and wasn't quite sure how to react in this situation.

Still a little off balance, she turned to the conversation going on between the others and just listened in for a while. It was nice to have a moment where she wasn't expected to keep up the conversation.

It didn't take long before their desserts arrived, the conversation lulling a little as they each dug in, Naru sipping at his tea calmly.

Mai hummed a little as the flavours coated her tongue, chocolate filling her mouth. She resolutely ignored the look she was getting from Naru as she polished it off.

She'd never admit it to him, but it had totally been worth it – even if it was overly pricey.

For the first time that night Mai pulled out her phone, checking the time briefly only to be shocked when it read nine thirty-seven.

Seeing her surprise, Luella gave her a curious look.

Mai turned her screen around, and the older ladies face matched hers.

“Has it really been that long already? How time flies. I suppose we'd best be getting back home, or we'll all be falling asleep tomorrow.” The blonde woman murmured.

She looked as reluctant as Mai felt to leave.

Even though things had been a little bit embarrassing in the beginning, Mai had really enjoyed her time tonight and she honestly wanted it to last a lot longer.

Without warning, Mai yawned, her hand coming up to cover her mouth straight away.

Oliver sighed at her, ignoring the pang of familiarity from her tiredness. _'How often had she spent being tired or sleeping on my watch while in Japan?'_ He wondered.

He threw the thought from his mind, instead pushing away from the table and standing gracefully.

“Come on. I'll get you back to the hotel before you fall asleep at the table.”

Mai flushed. “I wouldn't fall asleep at the table.” She argued.

The unconvinced look that she got in response from her three friends at the table made her throw her hands up as a show of surrender.

Pushing away from the table she stood as well – not nearly as graceful as Naru, but at least she didn't fall over – and bid the other's goodbye as she trailed after Naru who hadn't waited for her at all, already on his way to the exit.

Moving quickly, Mai caught up to him, making sure to call him a jerk for good measure before they delved into a comfortable silence. After how much talking she'd done over the course of the night, Mai found that for once she could appreciate it.

Shivering slightly from the cold outside air, she rubbed at her arms slightly while they approached the car.

“Idiot. Next time bring a jacket. England is always cold in comparison to Japan, so you're better safe than sorry.” Oliver informed her, pressing the button to unlock the car and getting in to start it.

Mai pouted as she got into the passenger side again, happy when she realised that Naru had put the heaters on for her.

Smiling a little, she waited as he pulled out of the carpark, watching out her window as the streets rolled by.

“I'll keep that in mind.” She replied belatedly.

Then it was silent for the rest of the drive, the brunette opting to enjoy the peace for once.

It seemed like forever and no time at all when they were pulling up in front of her hotel.

Opening the door and stepping out, Mai smiled at Naru.

“Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Oliver rolled his eyes as if to say obviously, a smirk pulling at his lips.

“Goodnight Mai.”

Shutting the door, Mai made her way into the building, waving as Naru pulled away from the curb even though she knew he wouldn't be paying attention.

(She was incorrect. Oliver did, in fact, notice and he had fought hard against a smile in response but ultimately lost the battle, figuring that if no-one else was able to see then it didn't really matter.)

Happy to be inside the heat once more, Mai made her way to her room with only a little impatience, sleep tugging at her and exhaustion pushing for her to be faster.

It felt like years before she made it to her room, fumbling slightly with her key card before finally swiping it and unlocking the room, pushing the door open and welcoming the relief she felt at making it back.

 _'Nearly done.'_ She promised herself, putting her things down, putting her phone on charge and then grabbing her pyjamas to change and brush her teeth.

Routine over with, Mai made her way over to the bed and practically collapsed onto it, barely gathering enough energy to get under the covers before she felt herself falling asleep, body heavy and mind blank.

If only her dreams would be as quiet as she'd thought.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*If you guys can't imagine anything, or just want to know how I saw the dress being, then let me know because I do have an actual link for this dress. Or if you wanna look it up yourself (because FF hates links) it's on shein and its called _Lace Top Flounce Flair Dress_ (Note: The Name has changed twice since I first chose it, so if you want a picture instead, you can shoot me a message on here or tumblr and I'l find a way to get it to you~

 _**_ A quick note on chips mentioned here, I am referring to the equivalent of fries, and not what American's term 'crisps', in case it wasn't situational obvious

***If you live under a rock (or just don't know any authors or the inspiration for some of the most well-known horror movies out there I guess) and don't know who Stephen King is, he's a very well-known writer who I know primarily for his works in horror for things like “It” “Carrie” “Pet Semetary” “The Shining” and more.

****Mochi is a Japanese style candy. I personally am not a fan but as far as traditional Japanese desserts go, this is probably the most well-known one so I figured it was a safe option. They're rice cake pounded into a paste and shaped with a filling inside them and they can be both savoury or sweet, although I've only ever had them as a sweet option.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three! It's been two weeks since I was last back home already which is blowing my mind. I've actually been out to dinner with my house-mates aunty so this chapter will unfortunately be late. I've been working on it all week but somehow I still haven't gotten enough of it written up in time so it's mostly likely going up at the same time as TCOL. Normally I'd just write anyway but I've had 5 or 6 glass of wine at dinner which is a major impediment on my writing (seriously, I can't even sit down with a low key alcoholic drink to write – I get no where). I can't believe we're already gotten this far - and I really can't believe how quickly this story is growing in length. Originally I thought I'd have a lot of trouble keeping up with the initial length that I set up for each chapter (7000 to 8000 words per chapter is a lot for me), but it hasn't been a problem yet. Every time I sit down to write this, everything just continues flowing like I never stopped. That said, the beginning of this chapter is definitely more on the flowery side of my writing- something that hasn't happened in a long time but not something I mind. Hopefully you guys don't mind the momentary change of pace?
> 
> I've been considering how I want to go about this story. Usually I'm partial to stories that go on for a while (such as TCOL which is already sitting on over 50k words and hasn't even hit the true plot line), but this one is pretty much guaranteed to have way less chapters than I'm used to just based on the concept and how I've set things up. Mai is only in England for two weeks and despite the tension I'm building easily between her and Naru, I can't in good conscience get them together after such a short period of time (slow burn is the name of my favourite game). I have a couple ideas on solving this but I wanted to know you guys's opinions.
> 
> My first option is to just see how things go and perhaps end up leaving Mai and Naru in a good place to get together properly, but otherwise leave it to your imaginations. Or the option I'm leaning towards right now, which is to finish Mai's two weeks off and then make a sequel of Mai and Naru's continued correspondence which I can used to build more of a relationship between them before getting them together. Alternatively, that could also take place in this story as opposed to in a sequel, although the sudden change in how the chapters would be laid out might make that difficult to read. Any thoughts on the topic would be helpful since I'm really unsure right now (though I have plenty of time to think on the subject. Another fifteen chapters I'd guesstimate).
> 
> Some warnings for this chapter and on-going chapters- there are going to be mentions of death in the future chapters in a lot of detail. This chapter and the next few aren't ready much of an issue and I will warn you all once more when things get more gory in case you want to skip over it, but it will always be in a dreamland setting which is marked like this. Everything outside of that will only be non-detailed information. This case that is being plotted out is greatly inspired and based on Edgar Allan Poe's A Tell-tale Heart. I do not own the basic premise behind it and I recommend it if you're into Gothic horror style writing. I've always loved his prose and the story itself if really good – although short. If you don't want to spoil this case for yourself however I recommend waiting until after it finishes before going and reading it.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

_Mai's dreamland_

**Chapter Three**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

_Waking within her dream land, and watching as it quickly morphed into a different scenery from her usual glowing souls and endless darkness, there was a sense of quiet that disturbed Mai greatly as she looked around the near-black darkened room; silence thick in the air and so suffocating that she could feel the urge to shout and make noise just to break it._

_There was something wrong about this scene, something that screamed out to her senses and put her on edge as she watched on, unsure as to what exactly this dream was supposed to be or why she was being shown it. It had been months since the last time she had dreamed and even longer still since she'd been on a case that required them._

_It was unusual for her to dream outside of cases and this knowledge only served to put the brunette even further on edge._

_Regardless, as a clock on the wall continued to tick, Mai waited patiently, much more so then she would have years ago in the past. Taking in the details she could make out in the room, she realised for the first time that in the bed that marked the centre of the room, there laid an elderly looking man._

_Frowning, she was about to make more notes of the situation when the clock struck twelve. In almost that exact moment, she heard the quiet click from the door as it opened, revealing a covered lamp and a face-less man that she couldn't make out. There was a little more light in the room then in the moments before, but something about this situation seemed so wrong to Mai. So very wrong._

_In that moment, the elderly man began to rouse, eyes opening wide as he looked towards the slightly opened door from where he'd heard the sound._

“ _Who's there?” He called out, voice shaking even as he tried his best to stay strong in the face of a situation he had never before encountered or thought he would have to deal with._

_Silence reigned over the room once more, a fact that didn't shock Mai in the slightest._

“ _If someone is there then reveal yourself.”_

_The demand was once more met with silence._

“ _It must be the wind. Or a rodent. Nothing to bother with.” He spoke to himself softly, voice unsure even to Mai's ears as she watched him curl into the foetal position as a normal bodily reaction, protecting one’s self the best that they can, rocking slightly in a futile attempt to calm himself._

_His panic seemed to lessen however as time continued to tick by with nothing happening, but never so much that he could fall asleep._

_His eyes remained wide and trained on the slightly ajar door, barely blinking._

_Finally, as the clock turned to half-past one in the morning, his weary body seemed to no longer be able to take it, eyes drifting ever so slightly shut and his breathing beginning to even._

_Mai felt the urge to scream at him, to stop him from falling asleep. The man was still there, having breathed silently and never once moved from his position, waiting for his chance._

_And take his chance he did._

_In that moment, when the elderly man's eyes finally began to close, the door was pushed open quickly and the lamp revealed, light spilling into the room and making the elderly man close his eyes once more as they burned at the sudden brightness, a shout leaving his lips before he was knocked to the ground roughly and the bed pulled on top of him._

_Mai watched on in horror as the scene played out before her, listening as the man responsible cackled, murmuring things to himself that just like his face – she was unable to make out._

_Feeling the pull of the real-world tugging her away from the scene, Mai swallowed thickly._

_The last thing she noted was the sight of the elderly man's eyes, terrified pale blue shrouded with the faintest of film, begging for someone to help him._

Pushing herself up, as if jumping out of the bed would save her from the sight of the man's death, Mai felt sick to her stomach.

Swinging her legs out over the edge, she stumbled slightly on her trek to the bathroom before proceeding to throw up what was left in her stomach from the night before.

Groaning quietly, a hand went to her hair to keep it pushed out of her face as she spat out what was left in her mouth.

“And here I was hoping for a good day.” She couldn't help but mutter to herself as she picked up the cup provided on the sink and filled it with water to rinse her mouth out.

Acquiring her toothbrush, the brunette quickly set to work on fixing the taste in her mouth properly, wanting to sigh when the mint hit her tongue and immediately began to take away the taste of bile.

Not wanting to think about the dream she'd just encountered, Mai directed her thoughts to last night’s events.

It was almost surreal to think that after five long years, she'd spoken to Naru, Lin and Madoka all in one night – and hadn't even felt bitter.

Even though she'd been so confident that she'd moved on from the initial pain they'd caused her, there was still a tiny part of her that wondered if she'd truly managed to let go of her grudge.

She giggled slightly, thinking of how many reactions she'd managed to pull from all of them. It had been a long time, but she couldn't help the sense of satisfaction at getting one over on them for the first time in possibly her entire life.

It was a childish feeling, but not one that Mai felt tempted to squash considering there was no-one around to berate her for it.

Looking over at the clock, Mai's eyes widened when she realised just how late she'd ended up sleeping.

 _'Crap, I'm so going to be late.'_ She bemoaned, already imagining the disapproving but smug look on Naru's face when he told her off.

Not that it was any of _his_ business, the jerk.

Huffing at her own image of Naru, she made her way over to the suitcase, forgoing a shower because she was pressed for time as she rustled around for a fresh pair of jeans and simple light blue sweater.

Changing quickly, she ran a brush through her hair before deeming herself good enough to go.

Collecting her things from where she'd dumped them at the desk before getting ready last night, the brunette double checked that she had everything before zooming out the door; an image of the current time, ten past eight, in her head.

Flagging down a taxi as soon as she hit the street was easy enough, a stroke of luck that she wasn't about to look down upon, and soon she was on her way to the convention hall for day two, thankful that it was only a twenty minute ride.

Recalling her first lecture, Mai wanted to hit herself when she realised that it was _Naru's_. In the comfort of her own mind, where Naru couldn't take her words and turn them back on her, Mai was quite happy to admit that this was the lecture she was most looking forwards to.

Even without knowing him personally, Mai admired the work that he had done in the field and appreciated the views that held on various topics that greatly interested her. Missing that lecture was the _last_ thing she wanted to do – even without thinking about how his insufferable attitude was going to be _that much worse_.

As she pondered over what things she could learn from his lecture, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Originally when she'd started reading up on parapsychology it was when she wasn't sure what she was going to end up doing with her life.

It came to her as an idea when she was missing her time ghost hunting (and being with Naru, not that she could admit it to herself)– that even if she couldn't do it in person, she could read up on it, learn more on the subject.

That was how she'd found herself getting to know Naru as Oliver Davis, instead of the man she'd come to know in Japan. They were similar, and yet there was a contentedness in his work that Mai knew she could rarely find in real life that spoke of his love for the subject and his intent to study because he _wanted to_ and not because he _had to_.

It was refreshing and no-one else's work on parapsychology had ever given her the same excitement.

It was around the same time that she realised this that she decided to try her own hand at writing. Her love of telling ghost stories in the past translated easily onto paper, and within a month she could think of nothing better to do with her time than to read and write.

At first the others had been concerned. Getting so caught up in her work, Mai had rarely asked to meet up with them and they worried that she was retreating into her shell. But when the brunette finally allowed Yasu to read what she'd been working on he'd explained that Mai had finally found something that she was good at.

She'd admitted then that even though she didn't think she could do it; her aim was to become a published writer.

It felt like so long since those days that Mai still wasn't quite sure to make of how quickly things had gone so well for her. So often things had gone in the opposite direction that when things had started looking up, she'd been anxious for weeks, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Even now, part of her worried over when things were going to change – if she was going to wake up and find that everything she'd experienced until now was just another one of her super realistic dreams.

Despite this though, she'd opted to keep pushing forwards.

And now, looking at the convention hall after getting out the taxi, she couldn't help but feel like things were more real to her now than ever before.

Glancing down at the time on her phone, she winced when she realised that she'd been daydreaming for ages and only had fifteen minutes to make it to Naru's lecture. They'd be seating shortly, and this was one time that she wanted to sit as close to the front as possible.

Stepping inside, Mai grinned when she spotted the Madoka and Luella standing outside of the lecture hall doorway and immediately began making her way over to them.

“Morning Madoka-san, Luella.” She greeted cheerfully.

Turning to look at her, Madoka smiled. “Morning Mai. Cutting it a little close, aren't we?” She teased, glancing over at the time displayed on a wall clock.

Wincing as Mai recalled the reason she'd slept so long, she tried to pass herself off as merely sheepish as she rubbed at the back of her neck.

“Yeah. I overslept a little. But I’m here in time so it's fine.”

Luella giggled at the exchange. “Indeed. I don't want to imagine what Noll would have done if you'd been late to his lecture.” She joked.

Mai rolled her eyes at the reminder, welcoming the drag away from the pale blue eyes that were still haunting her from this morning.

“I imagine it probably would have gone similarly to when he picked me up last night.” She sighed, shaking her head.

Both women laughed lightly at the exasperated look on the younger woman’s face.

Glancing up at the clock Mai grinned when she realised that it was time for them to start seating.

“We'd better head inside now if we want to get a good seat.” Mai pointed out, already seeing the line of people filing inside. “Are you going to be joining us this time Luella?”

The blonde-haired woman smiled kindly. “I will. Even if I don't understand what's going on, I always love watching Noll speak. It makes me proud to see how far he's come and how much farther he's got left to go and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Her pink-haired friend rolled her eyes good naturedly.

“We'd better get a move on before she continues. I've heard this a _thousand_ times.” She mock whispered to Mai, starting towards the room and only laughing at the playful hit the other woman delivered to her shoulder.

Mai laughed openly at the display, smile wide.

Spotting Naru preparing up on the stage, her smile softened slightly. He was completely in his element in a way that the brunette had never experienced in person, but she could already feel a similar air to the one that she encountered when she read his books.

Shaking herself from her stupor, she turned back towards Madoka and Luella who had somehow managed to find them a few seats in the front row and were now looking at her knowingly.

Huffing, Mai scolded herself the for the flush she felt creeping over her cheeks as she settled in between them and pulled out her notebook from yesterday and readied her pen, not wanting to miss a single word.

“Someone's a fan.” Madoka teased quietly.

Her cheeks seemed to heat more as she ignored her friend, short of placing a quick hit to her shoulder.

Before her friend could retaliate, however, silence suddenly fell over the room without a word being spoken and Mai watched Naru glare at them.

Of course he could quiet a room without a single word. He was _Naru_.

Shaking her own stupid thoughts, she focused on what he was saying instead of useless information that wasn't a shock anyway.

To Mai's amazement, the two-hour long lecture felt incredibly short and when Naru began to make his closing statements Mai couldn't help her disappointment that it was over already. Even though she'd learnt so much in the past couple hours and her head was beginning to hurt, an irrational part of her just wanted to continue sitting there and listen to him explain the science behind her favourite activity – ghost hunting.

She'd filled almost four pages with notes scribbled in neat kanji and hiragana (completed with an english word here or there for the more specialised terms with no direct translation), and yet she felt like she'd missed more than a little bit of information.

Glancing at said notebook, Luella blinked in surprise.

Knowing that Mai was here for her own benefit and to continue her own studies hadn't really sunk in until that moment. She seemed like such a carefree girl and for some reason, even now looking at the evidence in front of her, she couldn't see her putting the amount of effort into her studies that she seemed to be.

 _'Talk about confronting your own bias.'_ She noted to herself, grinning at the thought.

“I suppose we're going to wait until everyone leaves?” Madoka guessed, gesturing towards the hordes of people who were eager to leave the room and get to their lunch breaks after a hard morning of learning.

Mai nodded. “If you want to brave that crowd then be my guest, but I for one am quite happy sitting here for as long as it takes.”

Luella made a noise of agreement.

Turning her attention to Naru, Mai rolled her eyes when she spotted a couple of people attempting to ask questions about the lecture and the irritated expression on his face at being unable to escape it.

“What do you think they're asking that he's gotten so mad?” The brunette queried, nodding her head in Naru's general direction.

Spotting what the petite girl was talking about, Luella shrugged. “I have no idea. Most of this went straight over my head.” She admitted.

Madoka hummed thoughtfully, considering why her prodigy would be so out of sorts. Even though he hated most people and found discussion with them tedious, he did usually answer questions with minimal fuss and significantly more restraint then he was showing right now.

“I suppose we'll just have to ask him over lunch.” She suggested when nothing else immediately came to mind.

“Speaking of lunch, I suppose we'll be tracking down Lin from wherever he ended up for lunch as well; so that you can be sure they're both eating?” Luella inquired, looking over at Mai for confirmation as she recalled last nights... well conversation was hardly the correct term; perhaps event?

Flushing a little at the reminder, Mai huffed. “Definitely. Honestly, you'd think the two of them were above being told when to eat.” She complained.

Madoka laughed lightly. “You worry even more than Luella. Normally Lin and I go out for lunch together, so you needn't fret too much. It's just Noll that's harder to pin down. For a man who lives in his office, he seems to know exactly when to leave in order to avoid being dragged out. I usually try to leave him _something_ to eat. He's stubborn though.”

The brunette rolled her eyes. “Well he can stop being stubborn for the next few days, or we're going to have more than a little bit of an issue.” She grouched further, prompting more laughter out of the two them.

“And on that note, it would seem that Noll has finally managed to fend off the last of the hopefuls. We better go gab him before any more show up.” Luella pointed out, already pushing herself from her seat, the other two following suit easily.

Stopping by the stage stairs where Naru had been accosted by people asking questions, Mai smiled at him.

“Hello Naru.” She greeted.

“Mai.”

Madoka rolled her eyes at the two of them. “Ridiculous. You'd think you two barely knew each other with how uptight that greeting was.” She joked.

Oliver levelled her with an unimpressed look.

“The only thing ridiculous around here is you.” He informed her.

Giggling at the affronted expression on the pink-haired woman's face, Mai shook her head. “We're off to get lunch and _you_ are coming with.” She informed Naru.

For a moment she was sure he was about to argue, more because he _could_ as opposed to any real complaint, but he seemed to decide against it as he sighed.

“In that case you'd better get moving. We're wasting time standing around.”

Grinning in victory, she started moving after Luella who began to lead them in the same direction from yesterday's break.

“So, I noticed a few people asking questions afterwards. Any good ones?” Madoka asked, easily breaking the topic that they were all curious about.

An annoyed expression made its way onto Oliver's previously blank features as he thought back on some of the things he'd been asked.

“Not in the slightest. Most of the questions were inconsequential, and the ones that were actually on the topic of parapsychology in any form were all things I answered in the lecture. Clearly they weren't paying enough attention.”

The irritation was clear in his voice and Madoka couldn't help but feel a similar level of frustration since she'd had much of the same issues when they asked questions at the end of her own lecture.

“So, translated, it means that half of the people who spoke to you wanted to know if you were single and willing to go out on a date, and the other half were idiots.” Luella summarised, winking at Mai who giggled.

Madoka hummed. “Did _you_ have any questions Mai? Unlike the rest of them, you have _The Oliver Davis_ ready and willing to answer your questions.” She teased.

The brunette blushed lightly at her friend’s choice of words, ignoring the amusement dancing in Naru's eyes.

“Not really. I might have some questions later when I’ve gone over my notes, but I doubt it. Everything was explained pretty clearly and there were few areas that you discussed that you didn't go into detail for. I presume the lack of opening for questions is something you did on purpose?” Mai mused, directing her question towards Naru.

The smirk that pulled at his lips was answer enough for her.

“If only things ever worked out that easily. Martin and I do the same thing to encourage only intelligent or relevant questions, but it never seems to work out. There are always a few people who just _don't get it_.” Madoka sighed dramatically.

Her face lit up a moment later however when she spotted her fiancé sitting at the table that they'd occupied earlier.

“It looks like we won't have to get you to hunt down your man after all.” Luella joked, watching as the younger woman practically skipped over to Lin.

Mai giggled. “It certainly makes things easier.” She pointed out.

The blonde nodded in agreement. “Now all I need is for my husband to make an appearance at lunch for once.” She sighed, rolling her eyes at the thought of how busy he was taking care of things for the convention behind the scenes.

Oliver scoffed at his mother's minor complaint. “Unlikely. He's been tied up with a couple of the benefactors all day. You'll probably have to wait until dinner to see him.” He informed her.

Pouting, Luella sighed again. “I guess it can't be helped.” Her lips twitched slightly. “I'll just have to make him take some time off work for a vacation this year so that I can keep him to myself.”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Naru turned towards Mai, his lips twitching a little into a smirk.

“Since you're the _expert_ on healthy eating, what do you think we should be picking out today?” He teased, causing the girl to blush.

“Don't be a jerk. I'm not an expert on healthy eating, but I'm _infinitely_ better than you at it. As it stands, as long as you actually eat something for lunch, it'll be an improvement on your current habits.” Mai huffed, pouting slightly.

The older man did roll his eyes this time.

“Come on then.” He urged, grabbing hold of Mai's wrist to start pulling her over to the buffet that was laid out like yesterday.

It was only then that it occurred to Luella what her son had done.

He'd made physical contact with someone. Completely of his own free will. Her son, who was hard pressed to so much as hand out a hug even to her on her own birthday, who despised touch with almost admirable passion, who had only ever let _Gene_ touch him without worry, seemed utterly unconcerned about it.

Despite everything that she'd witnessed within the past day and a half, this was something that finally made her stop and consider just how close Mai and Noll had been before he'd found Gene's body and turned everything upside down.

There was a peacefulness between them as the blonde woman observed their bickering, Mai putting more food on Oliver's plate than she'd ever seen him eat (though it was still a smaller amount than most people would eat), and his scowling and telling her off, only to be met with an unbudging stare as the young woman refused to back down.

He seemed to give up the fight easily enough as they moved to sit down, scowl still on Noll's face regardless.

“Are you alright there Luella? You seem lost in space.” Madoka called out, grinning when the older woman shook herself from whatever thoughts she was having.

Laughing lightly, Luella nodded. “I'm fine. Just got caught up thinking about a couple of things.” She assured her friend, moving to grab some food for herself and noting that even Lin was doing the same, a rare quirk on his lips when she nodded towards his plate with a knowing smile.

“Mai's a miracle worker.” Madoka informed her, teasing grin on her face. “Who knew that the solution to our frequent worries was to fly in a young Japanese woman, who couldn't hurt a fly, to intimidate them?”

Luella giggled at her friend’s dramatics. “Oh yes. If I’d known, then I would have done it sooner.” She agreed easily.

Lin decidedly didn't comment on their teasing, only mentally corrected their beliefs. Mai wasn't intimidating in the traditional sense, but she definitely was in other ways. Both having been the cause of Mai's tears in the past – and of her disappointment – was a hard thing to remember and harder yet, to forget.

Although she wasn't known for holding a grudge – something she had been vocally against on many occasions – Mai was all for guilt tripping and seemed to have no problems making her eyes water with crocodile tears when the occasion had suited her.

It was frustrating to be so easy to read, and yet it wasn't something she'd ever taken true advantage of, though she could have.

That was probably one of the main reasons why Oliver had accepted her so whole heartedly. Where Miss Hara had forced his hand with the knowledge she'd gained, Mai had practically done the opposite and used the knowledge she'd gained only for their own health and benefit – not even for her own.

 _'Although, perhaps I'm not giving her enough credit.'_ Lin admitted in his musings, _'There were a few times when Mai had actually been angry enough to intimidate even me.'_ Not that he would ever admit to them.

Shaking his thoughts from his head, his lips twitched at the satisfied smile on Mai's face.

Perhaps it was also the _result_ of doing something so simple that also made neither himself nor Noll hesitate.

But that was for another day.

“So, who else do you have lectures with for the rest of the day? Any that are interesting?” Luella asked after giving everyone a moment to start eating.

Mai grinned. “We just have a lecture by Sonya Miller this afternoon on hexes, curses and everything in between. I'm curious to see what I can learn on the subject. Curses and hexes are always a great inspiration when it comes to writing of any kind, not just horror.” She explained, practically lighting up at the prospects.

“Haven't you experienced enough curses yet?” Madoka teased, referring to the numerous cases Mai had worked with JSPR that had involved curses or hexes.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette pouted. “Haven't you experienced enough horror yet?” She shot back, referring to the other woman's love of horror books.

“Touché.”

Luella giggled. “I suppose it should be a good afternoon then. I haven't heard of this 'Sonya Miller' before though. Is she new on the scene? A student?” She enquired.

It seemed that Mai was just as unsure on that question, turning to Oliver for his opinion.

“Miss Miller is relatively new to the parapsychology scene. She recently graduated from an American school for parapsychology and moved here in order to start a career with BSPR. Her work is good.” He divulged, an irritated look of distaste on his face as he explained what he knew about the woman.

Madoka smiled, rolling her eyes. “I can sense a 'but' in there. You haven't even met the woman yet and you're already not a fan?” She scolded lightly. “That's a little presumptuous isn't it?”

Oliver scowled further. “On the contrary, I have met Miss Miller. And it's because I've met her that I know that although her written work is good, her field work in in great need of training and her professionalism leaves much to be desired.” He retorted.

There was a resounding 'ah' around the table as they filled in the blanks.

“So, Miss Miller hasn't got enough experience in the field for you to take her seriously, what she does know for field work is of little use, and she flirted with you.” Luella summarised, making Mai giggle, even as there was a familiar stab at the thought of someone flirting with Naru.

 _'Over. Him.'_ She reminded herself firmly, smiling still.

Always one to be positive until she met someone, Mai shrugged. “If her academic accomplishments are still worth it though, then I'm still excited to see what she has to say.” She pointed out to Naru.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “I could teach you more on curses and hexes in half an hour than what she's likely to teach you through a two-hour lecture.” He dismissed. “Her work is credible, but it lacks professionalism in the same way that her field work does.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow. “Are you implying that I should skip this lecture and instead spend that time with you teaching me hexes and curses instead?” She joked.

However, clearly her joking tone was lost on Naru, because he seemed to seriously consider the idea.

“I would never encourage someone to skip a learning experience.” He scoffed, “However, if you were amenable to the idea, yes. I think that it would be much more of a missed opportunity if you were to miss out on the chance to learn from _me_.”

And then his signature smirk was back.

Biting her lip, Mai had to admit – at least to herself - that he was right. Spending two hours with Naru instead seemed like a much better idea and she would definitely get more out of it.

Madoka seemed to note her dilemma and grinned at the thought.

Even after all these years the chemistry between Mai and Naru is almost palpable in the air, and anything she could do to help them along was considered a win in her book, despite the warning she'd receive on not meddling in their affairs from Lin later on.

“I can take down the notes from Miss Miller's lecture for you, since I already planned on attending, if you wanted to spend the time with Oliver learning what he has to say. Then you can have the best of both worlds.” She offered.

Blinking in surprise, Mai turned to her friend with wide eyes. “Would you mind? I don't want to be a bother to you...” She trailed off, a little uncertain.

It solved her current problem, but the last thing she wanted to do was make things harder for Madoka.

The pink-haired woman waved her off easily. “I was attending anyway. A copy of my notes for you is hardly difficult. And Oliver makes a good point. I doubt you have much free time outside of your already planned activities?”

Luella jumped on the topic easily.

“Oh, of course! We never did ask what else you have planned for while you're here. Any sightseeing? I know that next week on Tuesday you said you'd come and sit in on the lectures, but surely you have some more fun activities planned as well while you're here?” She cajoled.

Mai shrugged slightly. “I've mostly been going about things and playing it by ear. I have the lectures from tomorrow and the ball tomorrow night of course. Other than that, the only other major event that was actually planned in advance was a trip to BSPR in two days’ time so that I could bother the people there for stories on past experiences and learn some more details.” She admitted. “Although I feel as though I should point out that this is _fun_ for me.”

Shaking her head, Luella let out a dramatic sigh. “I had hoped you would be better than Oliver for these kinds of things, but it appears that you really are just as much of a workaholic.” She bemoaned.

Giggling slightly, Mai shook her head. “Don't worry too much. If nothing else, there are a couple of places I need to go and see around London – even if it is for writing purposes – so I wouldn't worry about my missing out on sightseeing too much. I'll be seeing at least a couple of them.” She promised, touched by the older woman's worry.

Truthfully, Mai from high school would have likely been just as worried about being on holiday and not going out to see the sights; but over the past couple of years her love for writing has only gotten stronger, so the thought of spending her time on something else really didn't hold as much appeal.

Of course she made time for breaks and there was a couple things she wanted to see and do while overseas, such as riding the London Eye, or shopping for souvenirs for everyone, or even her trip to BSPR which will no doubt be part business and more largely a social call; but she was equally excited to just spend her time writing away in her hotel room – or perhaps at some of the various coffee shops.

Glancing at the time, Madoka sighed a little, before turning to Mai.

“We're in agreement then? You and Oliver are off to study one on one hexes and curses and I'll take notes for you in the lecture?” She asked.

Mai nodded, still a little bit guilty, but willing to let it go for the sake of her studies.

“As long as you really don't mind.” She responded easily, smiling gratefully at the pink-haired woman as she scoffed.

Standing up, she grabbed onto Lin's shoulder.

“In that case, we're off.” Madoka informed them all cheerfully, her fiancé going along without complaint and a barely there hint of fondness as the woman's overwhelming energy.

Luella grinned. “I'll see you at dinner tonight.” She agreed, waving her off before turning to Mai. “You're still coming to dinner tonight as well, aren't you? I'll be cooking for you all tonight at our home and it really would be wonderful if you could make it.”

Sensing the older woman's excitement, the brunette couldn't help but laugh a little as she nodded in agreement, the situation vaguely reminiscent of the first time she'd gone over to Ayako's for dinner.

“If you don't mind having me, I would love to join you again.” She agreed, smiling.

Predictably, she received the same dead panned look she'd been getting since the first time she'd wondered if they would mind her presence, even if this time was more out of politeness, than an actual intent to decline.

Huffing a little, the older woman couldn't quite hide her smile that belayed how little she was actually angry. “Then I best be off as well if I want everything to be done at a decent time.”

Noll nodded. “I will see you later tonight then, mother.” He informed her, a small upturn of the lips better than any hug the older woman could ask to receive.

“Don't have too much fun!”

Shaking his head at his mother's dramatics, Oliver turned his attention back to Mai, smirk pulling at his lips when he noted how her thoughts appeared to be drifting.

“Now, since it's just the two of us left, I suppose I had better make good on my word.” He offered. “Sadly, however, it'll definitely be a bit of an annoyance to work here. I can take us to the BSPR office if you'd like, or I have my own apartment a few blocks from here if you'd prefer.”

Snapping away from her thoughts, Mai ignored the implications of working alone with Naru and instead opted to shrug slightly at her options, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind that sounded vaguely like Yasu demanding she go with the _apartment_ option.

“I'm fine with whichever is easiest. Though I suppose that we'll be less likely to be interrupted if we're at your apartment.” She mused out loud before flushing at the implications of such a private setting.

Curse the tiny Yasu in her mind.

Noting where her mind must have gone, Naru couldn't help but smirk. “Thinking of indecent thoughts, are you?” He teased, enjoying the red that continued to spread across her entire face.

Spluttering, Mai tried to get her thoughts to communicate but her brain didn't seem capable of coming up with the correct _Japanese_ terms, let alone _English_ ones.

Giving up on speech, she opted instead to just cross her arms and lower herself further in her seat like it would help to hide her, pout settling on her lips when she noted his very clear amusement.

There was something nice about knowing that her ability to amuse Naru hadn't changed in the slightest, and yet despite that, there was something equally as infuriating at the thought that even after all these years, he didn't have to try to fluster her, he just _did_.

 _'I left myself wide open for that though.'_ She admitted to herself. Clearly so much time spent with Yasu still wasn’t enough for her to avoid unintentional innuendos.

To keep from frustrating her further (although part of him really wanted to – wanted to see how much redder he could make her become) Naru gracefully continued their conversation.

“We are definitely more likely to get more results if we utilise my apartment – as long as you are comfortable with that situation?” He agreed, directing his question to her with only a little bit of uncertainty.

Mai rolled her eyes, cheeks still feeling warm but less so than a minute ago. “Of course I'm comfortable with that situation. I trust with you my life and I've spent more than a few occasions with the just the two of us in the past.” She reminded him, refusing to note the many chances there were to turn her words back on her and powering through the embarrassment she felt at admitting this out loud. Trying to lighten the situation a little bit and draw attention away from the many dangers they'd experienced while away on cases in the past, she smirked slightly. “Besides, I have _animal instincts_ remember? I'd know from the moment you suggested it if you had ulterior motives.”

Humming in acknowledgement, Oliver's eyebrows furrowed when he realised that he hadn't actually enquired after her current prowess with her abilities since they'd seen each other. It was a bit of a shock to realise that he'd been more interested in figuring out what she did for a job than understanding whether or not she still counted among the psychics that he knew.

It was a slight on his part that would need more analysing at a later time.

He did note, however, the way his mind seemed almost... _content?_ At the information that Mai still trusted him so completely, even after everything.

 _Even after all your lies_ , a voice in the back of his mind provided.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he focused on the situation at hand.

“In that case, we'd best get a move on. You can get your notes from Madoka later on since she'll no doubt be at dinner.” He informed, standing up from his seat and waiting a moment for her to do the same.

Walking towards the exit, he was glad for how few people there were milling around as they left the building and started towards his apartment.

“From your earlier comment, I take it to mean that your ESP is very much still in play?” He inquired, broaching the topic that should have been one of his first priorities.

Mai hummed, sensing where the topic seemed to be heading. “Yeah. ESP is one of my more developed skills, and I'm usually pretty in tune with it these days.” She admitted, thinking on how often she used her ESP to read the people around her.

Noting this for later, Naru considered what else he knew about Mai's abilities in the past. “Do you still get the same dreams? You mentioned that you still go on cases on occasion.”

“I do.” She confessed, “Quite often as well. I don't need to be on a case for it to happen anymore, although it's still weird when it does happen. If a spirit close enough to me reaches out, there's usually a high chance of me dreaming of their memories. They're great for my writing, but less great for my energy levels. I have a couple of warding charms from Ayako to prevent it, but I don't really like to use them.”

It took Noll a moment to read between the lines, before he realised that there was a slight darkness under her eyes today, and she had been ever so slightly more tired, less energetic.

“Did you dream last night?”

Mai laughed slightly, her voice more painful as opposed to happy, which just sounded _wrong_.

“That obvious when you have the right information?”

It was as good as an open declaration.

“Yes, a little.” He forced himself to admit.

Sighing, Mai shivered slightly as she remembered the sight of pale blue eyes turning lifeless, fear still caught in them.

Swallowing thickly, she tried to think of what to say as silence formed between them, a little strained in comparison to the ease they'd had last night.

“Sometimes,” She began, after they crossed a street, her voice soft in the loudness of London's streets, “the dreams are nice. I've had many sweet memories brought to me from spirits. But last night's wasn't. For every good dream I’ve ever seen, I must have close to two nightmares. And no matter how many I've had, there always seem to be more. More ways to watch someone be killed or to watch someone kill themselves, more ways for humans to be cruel.”

She shivered again; voice thick with emotion.

An irrational part of Oliver wanted to reach out and hold her, give her comfort in a way that he knew she'd appreciate despite his own issues with touch (which didn't seem to apply in the case of Mai).

Throwing the thought away, he settled for moving his hand slightly to brush against her's, before lightly holding it in his own grip.

Fighting the urge the flinch at the sudden contact, Mai looked down at her hand, her cheeks warming as her eyes moved up to focus on Naru who was resolutely not looking at her.

Understanding his wordless comfort, Mai found herself feeling warmer on the inside than she'd been since she began to recount her experiences.

Smiling slightly, she tried to steer things to something more positive as they turned a corner.

“It's one of the reasons I write.” She divulged, “Everyone forgets the victims, focusing on the murderers instead. I want people to remember them. I immortalise them in my works so that they'll be remembered someway, _somehow_.”

There was a level of determination in her voice as Mai admitted this to Naru, and not for the first time he was reminded of just how strong she was. She stared down literal demons and dreamed of things most people didn't even have the displeasure of imagining and somehow still managed to look for the positive in people every day, and turn what she knew into something positive in turn.

It was the kind of thing that inspired his respect more-so than anything else.

 _'Or perhaps,'_ He confessed silently to himself, hand tingling slightly where it held Mai's more petite one as he glanced at the brunette from the corner of his eye. _'my respect is simply for Mai as a whole.'_

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with another chapter, this time completely on time! Yay! Honestly I don't understand myself. I give myself two weeks to write this, but most of the time I only get a couple thousand words written over those two weeks and end up writing the rest of it in one hit the night it goes up. Which happens to be the case as I sit here with a headache from working on this for the past eight-ish hours. But at last it is done! Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes since I can't really edit at all now that my head has decided to go to hell, so apologies for any you guys find (even though it isn't all that different to usual I suppose). On another note however, this chapter was not at all what I expected it to be and my mind ran away with a collection of ideas I hadn't considered before now. The beginning was a little awkward to write, although I hope that just adds to the mood, but things started flowing easily by the time I was half-way in and I'm happy with how things turned out in the end. Hopefully you guys enjoy it just as much. Leave a review and let me know if you did! Or if you didn't – I value criticism too!

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Four**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Approaching his apartment building, Oliver pushed open the glass doors to the lobby and quickly made his way inside, hand dropping away from hers; waiting for Mai to step inside the elevator before getting in himself and pressing the button for the twenty-third floor.

It was silent between them as they waited, elevator music running in the background that Mai hummed along to, mind far away as she thought about what they'd discussed.

There was a part of her that wanted to tell Naru more about her dreams, to explain more about how many things had changed in the time he'd been gone – how her own abilities had grown. But another part of her held back, recalling how little time they had.

 _'There is nothing he can do to help now.'_ Mai reminded herself, trying to shake the bitterness that she felt when remembering how much she'd had to learn on her own and how difficult it had been. If it was a mere three years ago, she still would have felt bitter; her control still on thin ice even after having to learn methods to control it on her own without help from the leaders of the parapsychology community. Leaders who would have been able to help her so much more than those who were left back in Japan.

Her friends had done everything they could of course – but in the end even the monks that made up Bou-san's family had struggled to find ways to help her, unused to the abilities that she displayed and how they had come to be.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise when they reached the correct floor. Oliver looked over in amusement at her distraction.

“Are you coming?” He asked, raising a brow as the brunette flushed pink.

Shaken from her thoughts, she followed Naru down the hall quickly, refusing to dwell further on the subject. It was all in the past and now was not the time for such worrying.

When they came to a stop in front of Naru's door, Mai couldn't help the tiniest feeling of curiosity that she felt, interested in seeing what kind of a home her friend and former boss would live in.

Ignoring her, Oliver unlocked the door and swung it open, stepping inside and immediately toeing off his shoes (a Japanese habit that he'd never bothered to try and shake after returning).

Following suit, Mai wasn't all that surprised to find herself standing in a large open plan lounge room/kitchen/dining area with modern windows along one of the walls. Everything seemed reasonably impersonal as far as styling went and Mai was sure that it hadn't been him that had chosen the furniture – there was too many softer colours for that to be the case. But even so, there were some things that made it clear that Naru lived here.

Instead of a TV, Mai noted, Naru had a bookcase that spanned the entire wall, as well as a large bookcase on either side with a couple of recliners and a couple of love seats around a glass coffee table on the right-hand side of the room. To her left was a medium sized kitchen with an island bench in the middle, a large dining table seated for eight on the other side before a small hallway with what looked like four doors.

“Would you like some tea?” Naru offered, snapping Mai away from her catalogue of thoughts.

Amused by the question, she smirked slightly. “I would love some please.”

Noting the look on her face, Oliver furrowed his eyebrows before recalling just how often Mai had made him tea in the past. It seemed so long ago and at the same time as though it was just yesterday.

Walking into the kitchen he pulled down two mugs and started the electric kettle before opening his cupboard to see what teas he had.

“Would you prefer green tea or black tea?” He asked, noting that he'd need to get some more earl grey soon or he'd run out.

Mai smiled. “Green if you have it.”

Nodding in agreement, he set about making the tea, leaving Mai to sate her curiosity further as she wandered over to the bookshelves to browse through Naru's collection; not at all surprised to find that they were filled with various articles and books on parapsychology and the sciences surrounding it. There were a few other non-fiction books there was well, but she couldn't spot a single piece of fiction – completely unsurprising.

Finishing up the tea, Oliver walked over to where Mai was still taking an inventory of his books and held out her mug to her.

“Thank you.” There was a pointed look to punctuate her manners which made him smirk, although he didn't say anything in response, moving on easily.

“I believe I promised to teach you all about curses and hexes that you might not have learnt about yet.” He stated finally. “We can work from the table, it'll be easier.”

Walking over to the dining room table, that was rarely used unless his mother insisted on having a dinner together, he placed his mug down before moving back over to his bookshelves to pick up a couple of the books that he thought covered the topics best; placing them on the table next to where Mai had taken a seat.

Sitting down next to her, he noted with satisfaction that the brunette had already pulled out her notebook and placed a variety of pens and pencils near it to take notes with.

It was a little hard for him to reconcile the Mai that he used to know, who liked to learn but didn't pay this level of attentiveness, with the Mai in front of him who looked every bit the serious student that she'd come off as over the past couple of days.

“How much have you researched on your own about hexes and curses. I know that when you still worked for me we experienced a couple, but the list of them is near endless and I'd rather not go over ones that you already know.” Oliver explained, for the first time sounding like the professor that he was.

Nodding in understanding, Mai thought about all the different things she'd read about over the years and listed off a handful of curses that she'd come into contact with since he'd left Japan and the additional handful that she'd read up on.

“Even though it's an interesting topic I haven't had as much time to research them as I would like. Usually I find a reputable source to read up on a singular hex or curse at a time and use what I learn from that source to build my stories around that curse, so I don't need to know of a variety. This was a chance to finally learn about more than a few.” Mai elaborated.

Accepting her answer, Oliver flipped open one of the books he'd grabbed and scanned over the table of contents, noting which of the curses and hexes were ones that would interest Mai.

“Many of the hexes and curses that are easy to come by on the internet are for witches since they've become increasingly popular over the past years, and they're mostly straight forward. Although the credibility of these spells is shaky considering that without any psychic ability or real spiritual power behind each layer of the spell, it's all just pointless chanting*. When the spells do work, however, they are definitely something to look out for.” He started.

Mai took notes immediately, switching between colours easily as time began to fly.

It was strange how comfortable it was to just sit there and listen to Naru explain things, stopping every now and then to give her a chance to catch up with her notes and ask questions.

By the time three hours had passed, Mai hadn't even noticed, too caught up in noting down her tenth major hex onto the top of her fourth page.

Hearing a quiet notification go off on her phone, she gave Naru an apologetic look before opening her phone to check what it was, only to freeze when she realised the time.

“Naru, when did it become four o'clock?” She asked, voice a little strained as she tried to figure out how time had flown by so easily.

There was amusement dancing in Oliver's eyes – despite his own shock at how quickly time had flown past – as he rolled his eyes at her reaction. “I imagine it happened somewhere between when we arrived here and now.” He teased.

Huffing, Mai pushed herself up from the chair she'd been on, realising how stiff she felt all of a sudden.

“It's time for a break.” She announced leaving no room for argument as she stretched.

Watching her, Oliver tried not to follow the strip of her stomach as it was exposed from her arms in the air, relieved when they fell against her sides once more.

Noting that he wasn't going to get anything else done for the moment, he stood as well, heading towards the kitchen with his and Mai's mugs.

“More tea?”

Mai shook her head. “I'll take some water if I can though, please?” She enquired.

Scoffing at her awkwardness, Oliver agreed easily. Putting the kettle back on for himself, he grabbed a glass and filled it, placing it on the island as Mai took to leaning against its side, watching him move around and make himself another tea.

“So, how much more do you think we covered in the first two hours than I would have if I'd gone to the lecture?” She asked, curious as to how much more she'd probably managed to learn.

Oliver considered the question for a moment. “We probably doubled the amount of information that you learnt. There would likely have been a curse or hex that she explained in detail that you would've known about which would have wasted some time, as well as the first twenty minutes of introduction to _what_ hexes and curses are, and when they've been used historically that also would have wasted your time.” He explained.

That was likely to be true, especially since it wasn't like everything she'd heard over the past couple of days was new information.

“Are you intending to go to the fund-raising ball tomorrow night?” Mai asked, changing the topic to something less work related.

She tried to convince herself that it wasn't because she wanted to see if she'd have the chance to see Naru in a suit, although the tiny Yasu of her mind once again reminded her of the truth.

_'There is nothing wrong with looking. Only with feeling.'_ She reminded herself harshly, stamping down the butterflies before they could even consider forming. They were only going to have just under two week's worth of interactions any way and then she'd be back home. Maybe she'd manage to keep in contact with Naru this time around, but she was doubtful that a long-distance relationship was something she could handle.

_'Not to mention he probably still doesn't see me in that way.'_

It was a harsh reminder, but it seemed to do the trick as she focused back on the man in front of her as he turned around from making his tea, the space between his eyebrows pinched in a show of frustration.

“I wish that I could miss the waste of time, but I will be there yes. As part of the main party organising and taking care of the parapsychology department and this year’s convention I'm expected to attend and get some of the more rich attendees to contribute money so that we can keep our department alive.” He admitted, distaste in every syllable.

It was his least favourite thing to do. There were much more important things he could be doing with his time then entertaining idiots who didn't care for - or understand - the work that he was doing. Most of them would spend the night throwing their daughters at him or propositioning him themselves. It was all unnecessary and annoying.

Giggling at his annoyance, Mai smiled. “I will be there as well so maybe I can make things a little easier for you. If nothing else, you can shake everyone else away for a moment by talking to me. I am a famous author after all, I should count as high profile enough to take away some of your time. Perhaps if you stayed with me everything would be easier to handle.” She offered, cursing herself as soon as the words left her lips.

She'd practically just offered to go as his date. That is _not_ considered trying to stop her _feelings_ from growing even more. Not at all.

Smirking at the flush of pink that covered the brunette's cheeks, Oliver stopped to consider if Mai realised what she was implying (although the pink that had risen on her cheeks made him suspect that she'd noticed shortly after she'd said it). It was one thing for him to stop and say hello to her and mingle for a while at the ball, another entirely if she were to stay with him the entire night.

It was a tempting offer regardless though. He hated attending these and even just the thought of Mai being there with him made things easier for reasons he wasn't yet ready to acknowledge (memories of how they parted originally weighing heavily on his mind).

“Well then, Miss Taniyama, would you be so kind as to accompany me tomorrow night as my plus one?” He proposed, unable to convince himself to deny the comfort having her with him would be but unwilling to refer to her as his date in case that wasn't what she wanted.

He'd gotten better with reading emotions over the years – Luella was quite proud – but there was still a lot of uncertainty and he didn't want to pressure Mai into something she didn't want to do.

Smiling widely at the offer, Mai giggled a little at his choice of words but couldn't help the giddiness she felt at the idea that Naru would be willing to go to the ball with her.

“I would be honoured that _the_ Oliver Davis would choose to bring me.” She joked, rolling her eyes at the satisfied smirk on his face at her mocking compliment.

Swallowing, she allowed them to dance around the topic of _what_ she was going as easily. There were two more weeks yet to figure things out, no need to rush into anything without thinking.

“More importantly, however, we'll have to keep things from Mother and Madoka until the last moment.”

His musing broke Mai from her thoughts as she raised an eyebrow at Naru, waiting for him to continue.

Noting her look, he scoffed a little. “Unless of course you _want_ to spend tonight's dinner dealing with the excitement of Madoka and my mother; who will have decided that this is my crowning moment of glory and will ask you for details and squeal repeatedly over the subject?” He offered, a pointed look to make sure she understood what he was saying.

Wincing a little as she thought about the two women, she could understand Naru's desire to wait.

“Do you think that when they notice at the ball, they'll keep it together for appearances sake since we're in public?” She asked, voice hopeful.

Oliver couldn't help the amused lilt to his voice. “You can dream.”

Wilting, Mai accepted her fate and decided that Naru's idea to keep it from them for the moment was definitely going to be for the best.

 _'At least'_ She thought, _'if I'm with Naru for the entire night then some of those hopeful women will probably get ideas and leave him alone.'_

It was one thing to accept that things will go where they ended up going (hopefully in the direction that firmly led towards friendship) – it was another entirely to kick the jealousy she felt at the thought of so many women throwing themselves at the man she cared for _'Not love. Maybe once more another day, but not now.'_

Unbeknownst to her, Oliver was thinking the same thing; considering how much easier it would be to keep some of the women away from him when they believed that he'd chosen a date.

Sadly, however, he had no such hope that the pushier of the women would not bother him. But he'd take what he could.

For a moment he entertained the thought of Mai getting mad on his behalf but pushed it away easily. There was too much hope in that thought and he didn't get to where he was now by daydreaming.

Thinking of which, it was probably time to get back to work if they wanted to get anywhere else before they left for dinner tonight.

Glancing at the time, he wasn't shocked to see it had been a little under an hour since they'd started their conversation.

“We're meeting at my mother's for dinner at six-thirty, so we have another hour to get some more study done if there was anything you'd like to go over.” Oliver offered.

Mai smiled. “Well, I suppose Madoka is right. I have _the_ Oliver Davis' mind to myself for another hour, I had better make good use of it.” She teased, heading back towards the table with her glass in hand after refilling it.

“I'm glad you understand. People book months in advance for my time and pay quite the price you realise.” He informed her, smirking.

Laughing, the brunette shook her head slightly. “Watch it narcissist. If you let your head get much bigger then you might not fit in the room anymore.” She warned, voice still joking.

Deciding not to comment further on that, Oliver focused on what things they could go over that Mai would find just as interesting to study and that would be helpful to her writing.

He made a mental note to purchase the books that Mai had written as well. He didn't often indulge in fiction, however, he supposed he would make an exception for Mai. Her work was very well known and factual if nothing else; and based on her dreams, if her words from earlier were anything to go by, so there was likely a rather even mix of fact and fiction and it would be easier for him to deal with.

At least that was what he tried to convince himself was the reason for his giving the books a chance. Not at all because the woman who had written them was Mai and knowing that he wanted to know as much as possible about her work (and by extension – Mai herself).

Not at all.

“Is there a particular topic that interests you for parapsychology?” Oliver inquired, switching gears completely to get away from those thoughts. He'd had enough of emotions for the day.

Mai hummed, thinking about the question for a moment. “I'm always interested in what I can do with my own psychic abilities, but the other psychic abilities people claim to have had over the years are something that I've tried to research but had only a little bit of luck with.” She admitted, thinking about the amount of times she tried to understand the concept of being able to control an element, such as someone possessing psychokinesis, and been unable to wrap her head around it.

Oliver nodded in understanding, moving over to his bookshelves to pull out a couple of books on the different psychic abilities that had been recorded over the years.

“Some of the abilities in these books are questionable in origin and don't have enough evidence backing them for me to take them too seriously, however, they're a good starting point for you if you intend to use them to create characters or dilemmas.” He warned, placing them down in front of her.

Nodding in understanding, Mai flicked one open and scanned through the table of contents to see which major abilities it mentioned, noting a couple that she'd never heard of.

Before either of them knew it, another hour had passed as they discussed the various possibilities for psychics and how to tell what claims of abilities were more realistic in nature than others.

Glancing over at a wall clock, Oliver fought back a sigh of disappointment when he realised that it was time for them to be leaving if they planned to make it on time to dinner.

“You can borrow those for the moment.” He offered when he saw the longing look Mai was giving the book she'd been scanning over.

Looking up in surprise, Mai bit her lip. “Are you sure it's okay?” She asked.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Would _I_ have bothered to offer if it wasn't?” He pointed out.

Huffing, Mai had to admit that he was right – of course. She'd never known him to do anything he didn't want to short of a good reason (and even then, never without argument), so it was safe to assume that he made the offer of his own accord.

After packing up her things, she accepted the book he was holding out to her with a smile, warmth in her chest. If nothing else, she could console herself with the fact that Naru had probably never lent something of his own out to another girl who wasn't Madoka or Luella.

And despite the pettiness in that thought, she couldn't help the satisfaction it gave her.

Stepping out the door, she waited for Oliver as he locked up his apartment before he began to lead the way down to the parking garage.

They easily picked up their conversation on psychic abilities as they waited for the elevator; Oliver smirked slightly when he noted that Mai was more informed on the subject then she'd made it sound like.

It reminded him of how unsure she'd seemed when the topic of her visits to the university lectures had been brought up. It was amusing how someone could at one time be so sure of their own abilities and be as confident in themselves as Mai always seemed to be, and yet worry to the same amount that they aren't good enough to sit through a first-year lecture on a topic they'd had first-hand experience in.

Mai was a walking contradiction and, as usual, it intrigued him.

“Have you ever considered writing something that was non-fiction?” Oliver asked out of no-where after listening to Mai's theory on why PK-LT was so rare to find in psychics and the possibilities it holds.

The question startled Mai for a moment before she considered the concept. “I've never really given it much thought.” She admitted. “Why?”

Oliver gave her his best 'are you an idiot?' look and remained silent as they got out of the elevator and made their way into the parking garage, over to his car.

Huffing, Mai rolled her eyes. “Okay, don't answer then.” She grumbled, pouting.

“Ask an intelligent question and I might give you a better response.”

Sighing at the characteristic answer, the brunette chose her words more carefully. “Why do you think that I should write something non-fiction?” She tried.

“Why do you think that you shouldn't?” He retorted, unlocking the car and sliding into his seat, smirk on his face as he heard Mai's groan of irritation.

He had to be being difficult to annoy her. There was no other reason for him to answer her question with another question.

“Now who's being an idiot? I don't have any qualifications that would make something I write that's non-fiction valuable.” Mai explained.

Oliver gave her the most innocent look that he could muster, trying his best not to smirk. “I don't believe I called you an idiot, and I don't appreciate the implication that _I_ am one.” He informed her, purposefully sounding offended by the idea.

Sighing, Mai fought the urge to stamp her foot in irritation – a habit that she'd thought she had long gotten rid of but somehow Naru brought out in her with ease. Bastard.

“Why do you need to be so difficult?” She lamented, not at all surprised when that didn't warrant a response from Naru either.

Watching as buildings went by, Mai tried to think of what would be the best way to word things to get the best results.

“Why do you think that I should write a non-fiction book when I have zero qualifications in any subject?” She queried after a moment of silence.

This time there was only a moment of silence before Oliver responded, this time without the level of difficulty he'd displayed so far.

“I think you'll find that you don't need to have a qualification in order to be credible, although it helps, particularly if you have people in that same field back your work. Anyone can write a book on whatever subject they want and self-publish it these days.” He pointed out.

Mai sighed. “I didn't ask if I _could_ – I'm a writer Naru, I'm well aware that I _can_ write a book on whatever I want. I asked why _you_ think that I _should_.” She emphasised.

“Why do you think? You have some interesting points of view and have done a lot of work in the field of parapsychology to back any hypothesis that you have. You'd find yourself backed by myself and Madoka, possibly even my father, as well. That's more credibility then most non-fiction writers can claim.” Oliver explained, amused by how quickly Mai's annoyance had built and even more amused by the noticeable silence that followed his words.

Now that she'd managed to cajole a real answer out of Naru, she found she didn't know what to do with the genuine offer and compliment that she was being offered.

Opening and closing her mouth a couple times, she took a few minutes to gather her thoughts before she ended up just babbling out a bunch of nonsense.

Another five minutes passed before she was sure that she could speak properly, mind still whirling from the possibilities.

Swallowing thickly, she looked over at Naru. “You really think that I have enough knowledge to write a book on parapsychology and explore my own concepts and ideas?” She asked, voice more unsure than she'd ever heard it sound, and the vulnerability in it made her want to shy away from whatever answer he was about to give.

“I'm hardly going to suggest it to help you build an ego.” Oliver scoffed.

Smiling slightly, Mai's voice was soft as she returned to watching the scenery fly by, noting that they were further out of London now and there was slightly more greenery around. “No, I suppose you wouldn't.” She agreed.

Silence fell between them again, comfortable as they drove the last five minutes before pulling up in front of a large house that Mai assumed was Luella and Martin's.

Before Mai continued walking up to the door, she stopped at the sound of Naru saying her name.

Turning to him, she tilted her head in question.

“I'm not trying to pressure you. I just want you to understand that if you ever _should_ decide to branch off, I will read over your work and help you.” Oliver stated, hoping he hadn't pushed too hard.

Smiling at him, Mai nodded. “I promise – you will be the first one to know if I decide that I want to get out of the fiction world of writing for a while.” She promised, a little amused at the sudden change of pace from Naru.

Happy with her words, Oliver started off towards the house, Mai keeping up with him easily before they stood in front of the door.

Not bothering to knock – much to Mai's amusement and simultaneous horror (although she shouldn't be shocked by his rudeness now) – Oliver entered, slipping his shoes off and waiting for Mai to do the same before leading her towards the more informal dining room they would probably be using.

As predicted, he entered the room to find his mother and father already sitting down, a glass of wine in front of them both.

“Oliver! I didn't hear you come in!” Luella exclaimed excitedly, cutting off whatever Martin had been saying mid-way through.

Chuckling at his wife's enthusiasm, he waved them towards the chairs. “You had better take a seat before your mother gets too excited.” He suggested.

Giggling at the blonde woman's attitude, that she was quickly becoming accustomed too, Mai took a seat next to Naru who sat next to his father; who was at the head of the table this time.

“How was your studying Mai? Did you two manage to get much done?” Luella asked. If not for the tease in her voice that implied exactly what she thought this 'studying' would become – as if they were teenagers making excuses, Mai noted wryly – the brunette would have been warmed by the fact that someone cared to hear about her day.

“It was great, and yes, I did manage to get a lot done. There are so many story ideas running around my mind right now I don't know how I'll manage to sleep tonight, and I have pages on pages of notes to show for the afternoon.” Mai informed her, lips titling into something of a smirk when Luella deflated a little before smiling kindly and getting over it.

“Well that's great. Hopefully those notes Madoka's getting you will help as well.” The blonde tried, knowing when to admit defeat.

Oliver didn't roll his eyes at the two of them – although it was hard not to – and instead turned to his father to ask how things were going for the last day of the convention (or the final day of hell as he'd been melodramatically calling it in his head).

Chuckling at his son, Martin smiled. “Everything is on track. The caterers for tomorrow night's ball are ready to go and will be working hard all day to keep things ready and on-time and the musicians are all accounted for. All that's left to do is make it through tomorrows lectures and then through the rest of the night. The board is hoping for you to secure upwards of a hundred grand tomorrow night for the department.” He informed Oliver, tempted to pat his son's shoulder in sympathy at the annoyed look on his face despite knowing that it wouldn't be welcome.

As if summoned by either the annoyance Oliver was feeling or by the subject of the ball, the sound of the door opening alerted them to the presence of Madoka and Lin arriving.

Sure enough, only a minute later the couple stepped back through the door, the pink-haired woman smiling and greeting them similarly to how Luella had earlier while Lin just nodded to them.

“What were we talking about?” She asked as soon as she took a seat next to Luella, grabbing a glass from the middle of the table and pouring some wine into it before placing it back down.

“Martin was giving Noll the figures for tomorrow night's ball.” Luella explained to her friend.

Madoka grinned. “Ah, that explains the irritated vibes I was getting on my way in. If you choose your targets well, you'll be able to get that much money out of only a few donors though.” She pointed out, trying to give the man at least a little hope.

Not that she didn't enjoy watching him suffer. But there were just some situations that weren't worth her amusement and the ruthless and uncouth way that some of the donors tended to act was something she couldn't bear to wish on people in large doses, let alone Oliver.

He'd be a complete annoyance over the next few days too if the past was anything to go by.

Glancing over at Mai who was asking about how things went usually – having never been to a ball before – Madoka reconsidered.

Maybe he'd be okay after all this year.

It would certainly be worth experimenting over if nothing else. Mai had changed the way Oliver acted in so many situations over the years that Madoka was sure that if she put some effort into it, the young woman was sure to change that too.

Satisfied with her thought process, the pink-haired woman turned back to the conversation, grinning at Mai's excitement.

“What are you wearing to the ball Mai? If you've never been to one surely it must have been exciting to go shopping for your first ball? Or did you decided to rent a dress out?” She asked.

The brunette smiled at her friend. “I bought one. It was a little exciting to go shopping for it, I suppose, but it was more of a hassle than anything.” She admitted sheepishly wincing as she recalled just how many items she'd tried on before Masako and Ayako had declared that it was the perfect dress.

Luella made a scandalised noise at the thought of shopping being a _hassle_.

“You don't enjoy shopping Mai?” the blonde inquired, the disappointment clear in her voice making Mai smile apologetically.

“I don't hate it, and it's fun sometimes. But I don't come from a well-off family and it's a little hard to enjoy something that warrants the spending of large quantities of money on things that aren't necessary.”

The way Mai described shopping amused the men at the table almost as much as the look on the faces of women near them.

“You're a middle-aged housewife in disguise. There's no other possible explanation for this.” Madoka stated, voice certain despite the incredulity it held.

Mai laughed at her response, shaking her head. “Not everyone enjoys the same things.” She reminded them patiently, “And not everyone grew up with the same amount of money to be able to find enjoyment in such activities.”

She didn't say that the thought of shopping for herself and not others reminded her of nights when her mother would refuse to eat so that she'd have more food for the next day; and days when she struggled to get by on the energy she had because her last meal had been days ago. It reminded her of school days where her friends took pity on her and bought her something extra for lunch so that she didn't have only a single plain rice ball to tide her over until the next day, and nights spent worrying over whether or not her mother would make it as she got sicker and sicker – but couldn't afford the medicine to help herself.

Sensing that Mai's thoughts had taken a turn for the darker – a sight that surprised him though it shouldn't have because he _knew_ she had been through a lot over the years – Oliver drew their attention elsewhere.

“Mai and I have been discussing how she might branch out into the field of non-fiction work, but she seems to be of the opinion that she doesn't have enough knowledge on parapsychology to make it the focus of an entire book while being credible.” He informed them all, switching to the first topic that came to mind.

Madoka let out an annoyed sound.

“Don't be ridiculous. Of course you have enough credibility. Although if you're really worried about that then you could always co-author something with someone already credible so that there is no cause for unwarranted disbelief.” She suggested.

Mai paused at the idea, mind clearing as she pushed thoughts of her darker days to the back of her mind and focused on their current conversation. Naru hadn't suggested it, and she hadn't even considered that it was something she could do but thinking on the idea now it was definitely the best solution to one of her problems.

Martin smiled at her kindly. “I would be more than willing to suggest some people who might be interested, although if you're visiting BSPR then it's likely you meet plenty of people willing to co-author with you there.” He suggested.

“Or,” Madoka grinned, “you could botch the idea of writing something with a person you don't know and co-author with Oliver.”

Titling his head in acknowledgement, Martin sighed at his friend's meddlesome ways. “That is true. The board has been asking after whether or not you had a new book in the works yet.” He admitted, directing his words towards his son.

Noll grunted but otherwise didn't say anything on the topic, a thoughtful look on his face as he considered the options.

“Maybe Mai can make his writing seem a little less dry.” Madoka added, teasing.

Glaring at his mentor, Oliver scoffed. “Works of non-fiction are supposed to be dry.” He informed her; voice close to being prim in his irritation – much to everyone else's amusement.

Mai laughed despite the fact that she disagreed with both of their statements. She neither found that Naru's work was dry, nor did she think that non-fiction works needed to be. But rather than give him even more reason to be smug, or start an argument, Mai decidedly kept quiet on the subject.

Getting up from her seat, Luella smiled at them. “It's about time for me to be pulling the roast out of the oven and getting the plates dished up. You lot stay here and talk shop now so that I don't have to listen to it all the way through dinner.” She informed them, laughter in her voice as she slipped out of the room.

“Well then, I suppose we had better get our parapsychology discussions out now. Although I am quite intrigued by the concept of you and Mai writing a book together. I can see the talk it would cause.” He mused, thinking about how surprising it would be – especially to anyone who had met Oliver and knew how much of a know-it-all he could be.

Madoka laughed, clearly thinking the same thing. “It seems like a perfect opportunity to shake up the community to me.” She added, grinning at the thought of the chaos it would cause.

Even Lin's lips twitched. “It would be a good debut to the area of non-fiction writing because Noll often gets a lot of clout by the parapsychology department and other relating areas of study.” He couldn't help but point out.

Mai bit her lip at the thought but didn't say anything in response.

There was something in the way that she looked that made Oliver pause. He'd have to ask about it later, but for now it was high time for a subject change. He had said that he wouldn't continue to push the subject and he intended to keep his word.

“Speaking of books, however, Mai and I were discussing the concept of PK-LT earlier and the possible reasons for its rarity. She believes that rather than it being 'rare', it might be more of a case that it's so common in such small amounts that it's too frequent for anyone to note that they might have an ability of any kind.” He explained the theory that Mai had proposed earlier on that day.

Madoka hummed in thought while Martin made a face that reminded Mai of Naru when he was lost in thought.

“It has its merits, although I have to wonder what lead you to the idea.” Martin mused finally, looking over at the brunette.

Mai shrugged slightly. “It came to me when we were discussing the ways that PK-LT often manifests and the possibilities it presents. For example, one of the ways that it might present is with an ability to understand animals better. I can think of plenty of people I've met over the years that seem to understand animals and be so in tune with them to the point where they may as well be speaking to them. This could of course be a coincidence, but it is also just as likely that they have a small amount of PK-LT that trained itself to be more in tune with animals.” She tried to explain.

Nodding in understanding, Martin considered it for a moment while Madoka grinned.

“And you think that you don't have a chance as a non-fiction parapsychology writer. With a thought process like that, I can see why Noll would want you to consider it.” She pointed out.

However, before the situation diverged once more, the door was opening and Luella wheeled in a cart with plates on it, smiling.

“Alright, now to talk about something else.” She informed them with a grin.

Just like that, the rest of the night managed to pass without mention of parapsychology or anything relating to it as they found themselves chatting about places they'd love to travel to and other things they dreamed about seeing or trying.

Before Mai knew it, it was already ten o'clock at night and she was starting to feel exhausted.

Glancing over, Naru noted this and shook his head, memories of how tired Mai could get and her habit of falling asleep anywhere coming to mind. Recalling the fact that she'd dreamed the night before, however, he cursed the fact that he hadn't suggested they leave earlier. It was likely that she'd been overly tired for over an hour now but hadn't said anything.

He thought it'd been odd when she'd started to get quiet.

 _'It makes sense.'_ He mused, _'She hasn't slept properly since the night before last; she's probably so tired she can barely sit up.'_

“It's time we headed out, mother, or we'll all be too tired to do anything tomorrow.” He informed her, leaving no room for argument.

Sighing, Luella nodded. “Of course. Come on then, I'll see you all out.” She agreed, already rising from her seat with everyone.

As they walked to the door, Mai smiled, shaking her sleepiness for the moment to wish their hostess a good night. “The food was lovely. Thank you for having me.”

The blonde smiled fondly at the polite young woman.

“I'll see you tomorrow Mai. Sleep well.”

Waving goodbye to the others, Mai followed Naru back to the car, slipping into the passenger seat while he started the engine.

Soon they were on the road, silence between them as Mai tried not to fall asleep.

Finally, Oliver asked what he'd been thinking about since he'd caught her reaction earlier.

“You don't want to write a book with me?” He asked finally, question in his tone, but no judgement.

Mai blinked at the sudden enquiry, shaking the sleep from her eyes.

Biting her lip, she sighed. “You're going to think this is stupid.” She admitted after a moment.

Oliver made a noise that somehow articulated how stupid he already thought she was, making her roll her eyes.

“I just – I don't want the first thing I write to be accepted on your merits and not my own.” She stated finally.

The admission shocked Oliver for a second before he thought about what Lin had said earlier. He could understand where she was coming from – even if he didn't think it was nearly how he viewed the situation.

The logical part of his brain pointed out that there was never a good reason to turn down the chance to get more recognition. In a field of study too heavily criticised, it was always good to take any and all opportunities and use them to the best of your ability. But he could understand where Mai was coming from. She was very independent – always had been from the moment he'd met her – and the thought of riding on the tails of his success didn't rub her the right way.

He found that if the situation were reversed, he would probably feel the same way.

However, unlike what usually happened at the thought of someone using his success to further themselves, he wasn't surprised to find that he didn't hate the idea. It would seem that, as always, Mai was the exception.

“If it helps, my backing you would have the same sort of effect and I do think that we could write something interesting together.” He admitted quietly.

Mai startled at his openness. Was that a declaration of the fact that he _wanted_ to write something with her?

Swallowing, Mai found she wasn't sure how to respond. There was still too much doubt in her mind to give him the answer he might want, but she didn't want to seem like she wasn't grateful for his help and suggestions. Although this was Naru, so most likely he already followed her thought pattern and understood the situation well enough.

As if to prove this thought, Oliver continued easily. “You have time. You don't need make decisions right now, and I'm not going to take away the offer if you decide not to co-author with me until after you've written something on your own. Think everything through and be sure before anything else.” He coached.

Smiling fondly, Mai nodded. “Thanks, Naru.”

No sooner than the words were out of her mouth did Mai spot her hotel up ahead. As they pulled up to the kerb, the brunette got out of the car, bag in hand.

“Thank you for everything Naru. I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.” She wished him, stepping back and waving goodbye before she re-entered the building.

Oliver shook his head at the woman. He should be the one wishing her good night, considering her nightmares. But none-the-less, he took her words kindly before heading back to his own apartment for the night, exhaustion for himself beginning to set in finally.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day and an even longer night; but reminding himself that Mai would be by his side for most of it made him smile.

Perhaps the ball wouldn't be so bad after all.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*Unfortunately, none of this is based in actual research. Normally I like to have a few more facts when I go into this sort of 'explanation' but I actually struggled a lot trying to find something even somewhat decent sounding on the subject, so I just took some of my personal feelings on the concept and combined it with what I did find to make something that hopefully sounds somewhat scientific. Please do _not_ take this to be actual facts.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's already time for another update, the last two weeks have gone by so quickly. As per usual, this has been left to the last minute (seriously you guys should shout reminders at me so that I don't keep procrastinating), although I would like to say that I've tried to sit down and write this a couple times and I've been having trouble starting it. Of course things started to flow better when I got to the moments that are borderline 'character study' so hopefully you guys enjoy a trip into Naru's psyche for more than a brief moment while I switch things up a little before we go back to Mai. As per always, this chapter has not gone in the direction I intended at all and there's going to be a moment when you guys question if I intend to get Mai and Naru together in the end because of how things ended up going but don't worry. Mai and Naru will be together romantically before I finish up my time with this universe.
> 
> Fun fact: There was a scene that I pre-wrote back when I was still in the planning stages of this story that was set to be in this chapter and I had to re-write it because the original was on paper and somehow I have managed to lose it. This is what I get for preferring paper notes.

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Five**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Forcing her eyes open at the sound of an alarm ringing near her, Mai groaned as she reached over with bleary eyes to flick it off. Closing her eyes again, she let her body rest for just a couple moments more.

After so many busy days and late nights, things were already starting to take a toll on her body and Mai was excited to remember that today was the last day that she was going to have to get up this early.

Of course, she'd made numerous plans for the coming days, she only had two weeks here in England after all, but tomorrow she'd left free to run a few present buying errands which meant she could sleep in until ten and smash them out before spending the rest of the day relaxing in her room and writing.

 _'But first,'_ She reminded herself, _'I have to make it through today and tonight.'_

And what a day it was going to be. Getting up to get changed and brush her teeth, Mai ran through her schedule for the day.

 _'First, I have to attend the morning lectures for Medium, Psychics and ESPers with Daniel Williams; Ghosts and Poltergeists with Charles Cunningham, and then the Planes of Existence lecture with Mikaela Campbell. Then I get a break for lunch after which we have a Q and A with Martin all afternoon. Then I have to rush back here and get ready for the ball before spending the night out.'_ She recited, groaning at the long list of things. Tomorrow's day off was going to be well-deserved after all this.

But despite the oncoming exhaustion that she could already feel, Mai couldn't help the slight skip in her step from excitement as she checked that the door was locked and made her way down to the lobby to catch a taxi and get her day started.

Before she knew it, she was pulling up at the convention hall and paying the cab driver before stepping inside.

Even though it had only been a couple of days, it already felt unnatural not to immediately go and seek out Madoka and Luella wherever they were hiding; and it would seem they felt the same way because as Mai turned to walk down one of the rows of stalls she heard her name being called.

Turning around, Mai grinned at her friends as they made their way through the crowd.

“Good morning Luella, Madoka.” She greeted.

Madoka smiled back, pulling Mai into a hug. “Morning Mai! Come on, you have to come with us.” She insisted immediately, tugging gently at Mai's shoulders to lead her away.

Giving a confused look to Luella, she sighed when the older lady didn't bother to say anything of explanation and simply smiled.

Resigning herself to her fate, she let herself be tugged along, only getting more and more confused when she found herself standing in front of Naru and Lin.

This was not part of the usual morning routine.

In fact, if Mai thought about it – and she definitely was now – she hadn't actually seen Lin and Naru in the mornings before; they'd always met up at lunchtime and in the afternoon for the past couple of days.

“Is there a particular reason why you're dragging Mai around at this time of the morning Madoka?” Naru asked, a sigh in his voice as he looked at them both with disapproval, arms crossed.

Like Mai could control _Madoka,_ the jerk.

“You're in a bad mood this morning so I thought I would bring Mai along in an effort to see if you would behave better with her around.” The pink-haired woman explained, pouting slightly. “Evidently I put too much faith in you.”

Naru rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Don't be stupid. Even if I was in a bad mood, why would I possibly change that because of _Mai?_ ” He asked incredulously, eyes narrowed.

Mai snorted. “You wouldn't. I've seen you at much worse than _this_. This is down-right pleasant.” She huffed, ignoring her own irritation at being dragged around like that just for _this_.

She hadn't had much of a chance to look at the stalls between lectures what with catching up with Madoka and Luella, so she had looked forward to being here early enough to make it through a couple and maybe pick up a couple of books.

Part of Oliver bristled at Mai's comment but as he recalled many of the mornings, particularly ones where they had gone on cases, he couldn't help but understand where she was coming from – as much as he didn't want to. There had been many times when he was in a bad mood for various reasons and the irritation from then was much more palpable than what Madoka seemed to think he was being right now.

If he was being honest with himself (for once), his irritation was simply a by-product of an emotion he had less experience with.

Nerves.

It was almost laughable to imagine, and he was much happier with Madoka misunderstanding the cause of his ire than he would be dealing with her gleeful expression if she were to find out that he was just concerned over how tonight would go.

Not that he expected anything to happen.

When Mai had suggested that they go to the ball together (although in a very roundabout way), he hadn't considered just how he would feel about it later on; and he'd found himself worrying over her intentions last night in a way that would have made him feel like a teenage girl if it wasn't for the flashes of his last moments with Mai. Where he realised that the man she'd fallen in love with was his brother.

Even now, he regretted his words and how harsh he'd been in his rejection, no matter how valid it had felt. Mai was so many things – caring, kind, endlessly compassionate and giving of love; she was pure _light_ – and she didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

But as terrible as it was, that moment had caused him to grow, the sight of her tears haunted him now and reminded him that sometimes his words were harsh in a way that some people might never recover from.

Although he wouldn't say he'd become soft. Madoka and Luella both insisted that he was still quite rude and should lighten up further, but their subtle approval was worth his extra effort.

But that was neither here nor there when it came to the real issue. Was Mai going as his friend?

It wasn't often that there was something that he couldn't figure out on his own but in this moment, he was still unsure of whether that was how things were going to be. She'd never outright admitted to wanting anything else and they were both content skimming around the issue of how they left things five years ago.

Shaking himself from those thoughts, he pushed them to the back of his mind, determined not to give them the light of day. Things would go however they went, and he would deal with them as he may.

He was a genius; he was more than capable of handling a single date (even if he was unsure if it was platonic or romantic).

“It's time for the lectures to begin soon.” Mai noted, snapping him away from his thoughts and making him frown as he followed after them. As they made their way over to the 'lecture hall' and took seats, he ignored the look he was getting from Mai as he tried to turn his focus over to what the presenters were saying.

But despite his best efforts, much like trying to sleep last night, things were not working the way that he had planned.

If it weren't for the fact that he had notes on what each presenter from the morning had spoken about, he'd be even more annoyed at his own inability to focus. His thoughts still filled with Mai and the ball tonight, no matter how hard he tried to push them back away.

Lunch passed in the same fashion; worried glances being thrown around while everyone made it their mission to break him away from his thoughts but failed before getting too far.

By the time his father's Q and A rolled around, Oliver was feeling more than a little frustrated with himself and was unsure of how to act in this situation.

He was off kilter in an unknown situation and where before he had felt like he had a handle on things, everything seemed to be making less and less sense by the minute; more questions coming to mind that he had no answers for.

Just as more began to form in his mind, he felt a slight stinging pain in his hand.

Looking down to find the cause, he frowned at the sight of slender fingers pinching his skin.

Blinking, his eyes moved to realise that it was Mai who was pinching him, her eyebrows furrowed in that way which meant she was concerned.

“What?” He asked, voice harsher than intended.

Mai's eyebrows furrowed even more. “Come on. They've already started but you and I can ask Martin questions any time and he can always give us run down on any interesting questions that he got later.” She decided, after debating for a moment, to pull him towards the back area where they would, hopefully, be completely away from prying eyes.

Luckily that seemed to be the case as Mai took a seat and pointed to the one across from her. “Sit down. Tell me why you're being like this.” She demanded; voice soft but firm.

Oliver glared. “You're being stupid. Nothing is wrong.”

Mai scoffed. “Oliver Davis, sit down and tell me why you're being such a jerk, or I swear I'll go to the ball on my own tonight and leave you to wade through endless sponsors on your own.” She threatened, aware that it was a weak threat, but counting on his dislike for human interaction to sway things in her favour.

With another huff, Noll took a seat, eyes still glaring coldly. “What are we going as tonight?” He asked finally.

The sudden question threw Mai off guard and it took her a moment to reconcile what he was talking about and even then, she wasn't sure she quite understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

“Tell me what's going on in your head.”

Sighing, Oliver gave up. It wasn't worth the hassle of continuing to worry when he could just _ask_. He was an adult for God’s sake.

“I've found myself concerned with your intentions after remembering how we parted in the past and I've been trying to figure out if your offer for tonight was in the hopes of something platonic or romantic.” He admitted finally.

His admission shocked Mai for a moment and she had to stop and consider the statement carefully, considering her own feelings on the subject.

Remembering the past was painful for her but she could understand where his uncertainty was coming from and his mood made a little more sense now at least.

“When I made the offer it was completely platonic in the hopes of taking away some of your stress for the night and giving me a reason to spend some more time with you after it's been so long.” She held up a hand before Naru could interrupt her. “But I can understand where your worry is. It's been five years Naru. I got over your harsh rejection long ago and moved on.”

Oliver let her words sink in, confused as to why her clear intentions made his stomach curl slightly like it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

“Can I ask why it worried you so much if my intentions had been something else?” Mai asked finally, nervous about her question but curious as to why it had eaten at him so much to the point where not even parapsychology had been a good enough distraction.

He had even started to worry _Lin_ in the end.

“I don't want to be compared my brother or be his substitute.”

The admission was quiet and if she hadn't been waiting for him to say something – even if it was to outright refuse to answer – she would have missed it. As it was, she had to turn the words over in her mind a couple times and try and see things from his perspective.

“ _Same face, same power; one has a good personality and the other has a bad personality. Which would you choose?”*_

It was one of the many things that Naru had said in the past that she'd never quite been able to let go of, and even now it showed so much about his personality that Mai wasn't sure how exactly to react.

Finally, she managed to find her voice. “You aren't a replacement. At the end of the day, I never really knew either of you all that well, but there's no way I could ever mistake you and Gene again.” She assured him, voice slightly deprecating. She could tell you his favourite tea and that he didn't like sweet things, but she didn't know the important things. She never had.

It was a harsh reality, realising that everything you knew about someone was a lie and that you never really knew them at all.

Oliver frowned at her words and how _un-Mai-like_ they sounded (he could practically hear Gene laughing at his use of the term like it was a valid description) as he listened to her describe something he hadn't even considered.

“You knew me better than you seem to think.” Still did, what with how her words were everything he'd been needing to hear, for longer than Gene had been gone.

Mai shrugged but didn't respond to that, doubt clear on her face before she forced a smile onto her lips.

“Now that you're done being dramatic instead of using your words, should be go try and catch the rest of this Q and A?” She asked instead, voice teasing.

Naru thought about pressing the matter further but decided that they'd had more than enough emotions for the time being and that if push came to shove, he could always bring the subject up again at a later date.

“I suppose we can sneak in the back.” He considered making Mai snicker.

“Oliver Davis, sneaking in the back of his father's lecture because he was late because of _emotions_. Today is a weird day.” She proclaimed sounding much more like the cheerful brunette he used to understand so well.

Instead of responding, Noll pushed himself out of his seat and began making his way to the lecture room, slipping in easily and taking a place leaning against the wall; ready to watch the last hour of the session go by, not the least bit surprised when Mai came in a moment later, glaring at him before turning her attention to Martin and listening intently.

At one point he saw that Mai caught Madoka's attention from across the room and nodded.

It would seem that everyone was more concerned than Mai had let on, but he supposed he could let their decision to send Mai go. After all, it had cleared up his issues in the end so who was he to complain?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The rest of the day passed by quickly, after Mai had let Madoka and Luella know that Naru was doing better, she wished them a good afternoon. Returning to her hotel room so that she could get ready for tonight. The ball was being held at a different location and Naru had said he would pick her up at six for it (despite her protests that it was supposed to _start_ at six and that he usually hated being late, the hypocrite), so she had just over two hours to get ready.

Luckily, her clothing choice for tonight was made before she'd even left Japan so that cut down her decision-making necessities, meaning that she could focus on trying to get her make-up right.

Although she did use it on occasion, she still wasn't a huge fan and didn't see the point in putting in extra time to learn a skill that she almost never used in her day to day life. As such, it took her the better part of those two hours before she was happy with how she looked.

Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, she almost gasped at how unlike herself she appeared.

Her light blue gown** just touched the ground when she was wearing her simple silver heels and it was made of chiffon over the simple cotton slip dress. It cinched in at the waist from the elaborate beading and the top of it was off the shoulder; the see-through chiffon covering her arms lightly and the beading flowed along the top, sitting perfectly against her skin. Since her hair was long enough, she'd put it up in a simple bun, letting out a couple of pieces to frame her face. Her make-up was natural, a light wash of brown over her eyes to give them definition with a coat of mascara, a little blush and a pink lip tint covered with a sparkly lip gloss.

Swallowing, Mai took a deep breath as she clasped a simple silver necklace around her neck with a small silver ghost pendant before leaving the bathroom to grab her clutch that she'd already filled with her phone, ID, and some money just in case.

Satisfied she had everything, she grabbed her room key and make sure that everything was locked before putting that in her clutch and heading down to the lobby to wait for Naru. She was a little early but considering that they were leaving later than they should be, it wouldn't hurt.

Even as the thought crossed her mind though, as she exited the elevator (ignoring the stares she could feel) she wasn't shocked to see Naru already standing there.

“I'm not late this time.” She stated instead of a normal greeting, grinning at the amused scoff she got from him.

“For once.” He allowed.

In truth he wasn't sure exactly what to say. When Mai had walked out of the elevator it had been like the air was knocked out of him and he didn't know how to react. He was used to seeing Mai in skirts and shirts, or shirts and shorts. Until now he hadn't even taken the time to consider what she would look like in a dress, but now the image was burned into his mind.

The woman who so often considered herself plain and boring was more beautiful than anyone else he'd ever seen, and he was tempted to tell her as much. He quickly opted against it, not wanting to send the wrong signals so soon after their talk that afternoon.

 _'You can give a girl a completely platonic compliment.'_ A voice mentally snarked but he ignored it as they made their way out to his car.

The trip to where they were holding the ball was mostly quiet as Mai hummed along to the radio.

They pulled up and the valet opened the door for the brunette making her smile and thank him politely as he took the keys to go and park Naru's car.

Naru held out his arm so that Mai could place her hand in the crook of his elbow, smirking when it brought a light blush to her cheeks.

“Going to pretend to be a gentleman for the night again?” Mai joked.

Oliver scoffed. “I'm always a gentleman.”

Mai didn't deign that with a response, focusing instead on walking with more confidence than she felt in these heels and thankful for the steady presence of Naru that was keeping her upright.

_'If nothing else, I can always count on him to catch me if I fall.'_

She giggled a little at her own thought, smiling innocently when she received a look from Naru.

The look was quickly wiped from her face as they stepped through a large set of doors and into a large room that was decorated elegantly with a drinks and food table on either side of the room.

They had to walk down the stairs to get in, Mai carefully taking confident steps slowly, her dress flowing around her.

When they got to the last step, she stumbled a little but as expected Naru steadied her, shooting her another smirk.

Hitting him lightly on the shoulder with her other hand, Mai huffed. “Don't be a jerk.” She muttered.

His lips twitched and Oliver had to fight the urge to smile at the familiar comment. “Don't be ridiculous. I haven't said a thing.”

“You were thinking it.”

She didn't receive a response for that, but the look she got was more than enough.

“Mai! Noll!”

It took a moment for Mai to place the familiar voice of Luella but when she spotted the woman holding onto Martin in a similar way, she grinned.

“Good evening Luella, Martin. This place is amazing.” She praised; already knowing that the only thing the older woman had gotten to be a part of when organising this event was the ball for tonight.

“Thank you dear. But more importantly, why didn't you say that you were coming as Noll's date?” The blonde asked, her question seconded by a cry of outrage from Madoka that no-one paid any attention to.

(Mai had to wonder how often Madoka caused a scene like this at these events for them to care so little, but the look she got from Naru kept her from asking.)

“We didn't mention it?” Mai asked, tilting her head in false confusion before turning to look up at Naru. “I'm sure we mentioned it last night?”

Oliver fought the urge to smirk at Mai's obvious lie. “It must have slipped our minds.” He stated shrugging lightly, much to Madoka's annoyance.

“'Slipped your minds'?” She growled; eyes narrowed. “How exactly does this manage to 'slip your minds'?”

Mai gave Madoka wide eyes. “It just didn't occur to me that it would matter either way. Unless you have plans for Naru and I'm in the way?” She asked, voice soft with fake concern.

It was laying it on rather thick, but she was thankful for how much her acting had improved over the years from interacting with people she'd rather not and helping ghosts who she'd rather yell at then send on to the light.

Madoka huffed. “I suppose it doesn't make that much of difference in the end, you're right.” She admitted when Lin gave her a pointed look.

The brunette smiled widely. “Well then, now that's sorted, what exactly should I expect tonight to be like? I've never been to a ball after all.”

Oliver scoffed. “I told you. It's a waste of time where you go around and socialise with people in an attempt to scam them out of their money so that the parapsychology department can stay alive.”

Rolling her eyes at her son's negativity, Luella smiled kindly. “It's a good chance for networking and meeting people in your area of expertise.” She corrected. “Most of the people here have more money than they know what to do with and are just aching for a reason to give it away. Noll has to try and con them into doing that, but it usually doesn't go as well as the board of directors want. But maybe with you there he'll be a little more... cordial towards the donors and things will go a little better.”

Mai laughed at her diplomatic choice of words. “So, I walk around with Naru for the night and stop him every time he goes to say something rude.” She summed up, ignoring the glare she was getting from Naru.

“Come on.” He grumbled, unwilling to let their conversation continue if it was going to result in them blatantly insulting him.

Mai let herself be dragged away without complaint, the warmth of Naru's hand on her wrist fleeting, and leaving behind an impression that quickly turned cold as she stumbled a little before regaining her footing and taking up place next to him as he wandered around the room without any real aim.

“Is there a particular person who you need to convince for donations usually?” Mai asked, scanning the room. There were so many people, they had to have some kind of system so that they weren't all trying to convince the same person to give the university funds.

Oliver hummed. “I usually stick to the females and the elderly.” He admitted. It was annoying to deal with women constantly flirting with him, but it was better than trying to deal with some of the men who insisted on telling stories that they thought he would relate too but he honestly couldn't care less for.

Mai rolled her eyes. “In that case, is there anyone here who is actually worth talking too? I might as well get a network going if I'm already here. It's a useful opportunity after all.” She admitted.

Scanning the room, Oliver nodded towards a young-ish couple. “That's Steven and Lila Turner. Steven's family runs a well-known paranormal tour in the London hotspots so he's worth speaking to.” He explained before nodding towards an elderly couple on the opposite side of the room. “That's Rose Fuller and her husband Zachary. They've been in the business for around forty years now so they have some interesting theories and stories that you might like, and they hold a fair bit of sway in the business.”

He continued, naming a couple more people to Mai who made sure to remember their faces.

“Are you just going to tell me their names, or are you going to be a proper gentleman and introduce me to them already?” Mai asked after Naru named the seventh couple without making any sort of motion to go and speak with them.

Oliver frowned. “I suppose if we must.” He relented, moving towards the couple he was going to point out next instead of just nodding towards them.

“Mrs Johnson, Mr Johnson.” He greeted, stoic but polite.

The middle-aged couple turned to him with a smile, the lady's clearly more realistic than the mans.

“Oliver Davis, well I never! Come to try and con us out of some more money this year, have you?” The lady teased, “And I believe I've told you before that you can just call me Linda.”

Oliver smirked slightly. “I've never conned a single person in my life.” He denied simply, ignoring the snort from Linda's husband. “I merely wanted to introduce a friend of mine. Mai, this is Linda Johnson and Robert Johnson. Linda, Robert, this is Mai Taniyama.”

Mai fought the instinct to bow, taking the offered hand and shaking easily with them both.

“A pleasure to meet you both.” Mai stated, smiling.

Linda smiled kindly. “The pleasure is all ours. How on Earth did you manage to land this one for the night? People have been trying for years you know and none of them even get a single look.” Her voice was joking as she leaned towards Mai and spoke quietly. “What's your secret?”

Mai laughed lightly at the mischief in the other lady's face and brought her finger up to her lips in the universal sign for 'shh'. “That's a secret I'll be taking to my grave and beyond.”

That got her a couple laughs from the two and a (fond) eye roll from Oliver.

“So, what brings a pretty thing like you to an event like this. I can't seem to imagine you hunting ghosts with how much of a princess you look like right now.” Robert commented lightly.

Mai flushed at the flattery. “Looks can be deceiving. I've been ghost hunting for...” she trailed off to do the math, looking over at Naru for some help.

“Six years now, give or take a of couple months***.” He approximated.

“Thank you.”

The words were said with a pointed look which achieved another eye roll, something that had the other couple fighting the urge to gape.

Never before had they seen the stoic young man react to anyone. This girl must be something special indeed.

“So, you're part of the business? I've never heard of you before...” Linda frowned.

Mai laughed. “I would have been shocked if you had. I still live in Japan for work and even then, I don't have much in the way of credentials.” She admitted. “But regardless I love the work, even if it isn't my main job these days.”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I would have never guessed; your English is so good. What do you do for work then?” He asked, intrigued by the young girl.

“I'm a bit of a writer.” Mai responded easily and vaguely, the couple not commenting further when she didn't seem inclined to say more.

Noticing a small group off to the side with his usual targets, Oliver tapped Mai who was making further conversation with Linda without any problems.

“I'm afraid that if you plan to meet anyone else, I'll have to whisk you away now.” He informed her, nodding towards where he wanted to go.

Mai pouted a little but didn't argue. Smiling towards the Johnsons, she gave a short bow – much to Naru's amusement. “It really was lovely to meet you.”

“You as well dear. If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me.” Linda promised, placing her business card in Mai's hand and folding it closed.

Mai smiled. “Thank you.”

“Now off with you before Oliver gets too impatient. You can expect a sizable donation to the parapsychology department like always this time too, Oliver. Mai's quite the convincing lady.” Robert teased, smirk tugging at his lips.

The brunette flushed; confusion clear. “I didn't do anything though?” She mumbled.

Oliver fought the urge to chuckle. “Don't worry about it. You wouldn't understand anyway.”

Her cheeks went red for a different reason after that, huffing at the familiar tone of voice.

“No need to be such a jerk.”

Sighing, Oliver just placed her hand back into the crook of his elbow as they made their way across the hall to the small group he'd gestured to earlier, easily slipping into conversation with them and introducing Mai who charmed them within moments, much to his endless amusement.

She didn't even seem to understand what was happening as people over the course of the night gave her their business cards, promising to help her if she ever needed it. The brunette seemed content to simply walk around and socialise; bringing out the best in some of the people that Oliver normally couldn't stand.

Best of all, however, was the fact that, without Oliver needing to do anything, the donations he needed to raise were rolling in without question; everyone endeared by Mai who still couldn't understand _what_ it was that she had done to get their attention.

It was two hours later when Mai was standing off to the side with Naru alone for a moment, drink in hand (although it was just orange juice, she'd checked with Naru to make sure since she really didn't want to consume alcohol) when a young lady who Mai didn't recognise came up to them.

“I hope you don't mind if I interrupt.”

Naru seemed to go even colder than usual as he turned to the other woman.

“Miss Miller. Lovely to see you.” Oliver stated, clearly not being sincere as he looked at her with thinly veiled distaste – although she seemed to not realise. “This is my date for tonight, Mai Taniyama. Mai, this is Sonya Miller.”

Mai took the hint, smiling at Sonya. “It's lovely to meet you.”

The other woman frowned a little. “I'm sure.” She stated, dismissing Mai simply and turning her attention back to Naru without so much as offering a handshake.

Fighting the urge to huff at Sonya's rudeness, Mai kept a close watch on Naru. This was the first time tonight he'd gone out of his way to call her his 'date' and there was bound to be a reason for it – although it wasn't hard to take a guess considering how he'd reacted to mention of the woman earlier and how he was treating her now.

Sonya placed a hand on Oliver's arm, oblivious to the way that he cringed away from her touch or to the harshness of his glare as he pulled his arm away and stepped further back.

Without think about how it might look, Mai moved to place herself on Naru's other side to act as a buffer between Naru and Sonya, ignoring the narrowed eyes she got in response.

Cautious – despite his lack of reservations so far tonight – Mai swallowed thickly as she thought carefully about her next choice of words.

“As much as I'd love to get to know you, Miss Miller, I'm afraid there are a few more people I had hoped to meet tonight and I'm sure you also have plenty of people to meet as well.” Mai smiled politely; the edges strained.

Sonya waved her off. “Of course. You don't mind if I keep Oliver for a little while though, do you? I haven't had much of a chance to get to know him since we've both been so _busy_. I've got more than enough contacts to not need to do rounds.”

The condescension in her tone was clear and it took everything Mai had not to rage at her.

Naru couldn't help but imagine the reaction Mai would have had if she was the same as five years ago and he fought the urge to smirk at the mental image of a raging Mai stamping her feet and pointing her finger at the person belittling her.

As expected, she was holding her own, polite smile still in place (one of the few talents she'd always shown towards people when they originally came to the office, doing her best to be understanding and helpful) as she gave Sonya an apologetic look.

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm afraid I can't quite give _Noll_ up just yet. This is my first time at an event like this and he promised that he wouldn't leave me alone, just in case. I'm sure you understand?”

The use of Naru's more well-known nickname felt weird on her tongue, despite how natural it sounded in pronunciation and she hoped that he didn't mind her using it since it seemed to be reserved for those closest to him and Mai wasn't quite sure just where she fit into that scale right now.

Sonya seemed to give up all pretence of politeness as she openly glared at Mai.

Luck seemed to be on their side however as Oliver spotted Luella waving him over from a group nearby.

“Terribly sorry, Miss Miller, but it seems my mother is trying for my attention. Enjoy the rest of your night.” He wished her briskly, turning and walking away from her, eager to get as far away as possible, his skin still crawling a little from her unwanted touch.

Mai moved to follow him, instincts warning her as Sonya's hand shot out to wrap around Mai's forearm tightly.

“I don't know who you think you are, but you better leave Oliver Davis _alone_.” She hissed, grip squeezing like she thought it would punctuate her words.

Mai didn't want to make a scene so instead she opted for gently placing her hand over Sonya's and using a well-placed press to the joint in between her finger and her thumb to free her arm.

“I'd appreciate if you didn't go around grabbing someone out of jealousy. If you can't see Oliver's lack of interest in you, then you're as blind as it gets.” Mai scoffed, voice hard, all politeness swept away in light of her now throbbing arm and wrist even as she kept a fake smile on her face.

Sonya glared harder, rubbing a little at where Mai had put the pressure.

“How dare you? Do you even understand who I am? You're just a nobody and I'll have you sued for laying a single hand on me.” She hissed.

Mai tilted her head innocently. “Laying a hand on you? But didn't you see? I gently placed my hand over yours and carefully pulled away. There's not a single person or camera in this room that could testify to me doing anything to you, and not a single reason for me to even attempt something. It would be your word against mine. And I hate to break it to you, Miss Miller,” She informed her, leaning closer like she was going to tell her the greatest secret in the world. “but I'm a lot more famous than you realise and if you try to fight me, I promise you, that it won't be you who comes out on top. Leave Oliver alone.”

Smiling, Mai turned away, waving a little as she called out lightly. “Just think it over.”

Approaching Naru, she took up a spot next to him, standing close but not bothering to put her arm on his after his latest experience with touch. She didn't want to push him.

“Everything alright Mai? Miss Miller wasn't bothering you, was she?” Martin asked, glancing over at where the still fuming woman was standing.

Shaking her head, Mai laughed. “Of course not. We just had a few words is all. Nothing to worry about.” She promised smoothly. “Are you going to introduce me, or will I have to introduce myself?” Mai directed her question towards Naru as she turned to him, keen to change the topic.

Frowning, Oliver bit back a retort about Mai's clear lie (although she'd gotten better at that too it would seem) and instead waved towards the three men in front of them. “This is William Brookes, Gregory Hayes, and Samuel Ross.” He introduced. “William, Gregory, Samuel, this is Mai Taniyama.”

Mai smiled at them, shaking their hands briefly. “Lovely to meet you all.”

“And you as well. Word of the night is that you've been making the parapsychology department more money than it knows what to do with.” William comments.

Sighing, Mai side eyed Naru at the mention of her somehow convincing people to donate tonight. “Yes, I'd heard about that as well. It'd be nice if someone was willing to explain to me _how_ exactly that happened though.” She grumbled good naturedly.

Oliver ignored that comment and Martin chuckled while Luella shook her head in admonishment from next to her husband. “Honestly Noll, give the poor girl a break. She already has to put up with you all night.” She teased her son lightly.

Giggling, Mai gave Luella her best 'what can you do?' look, shrugging her shoulders. “I'm used to putting up with him already, so I suppose there's nothing to be done for it.” She lamented teasingly, making the men chuckle.

“Will, Greg, and Sam make up three of our five heads of investigation at BSPR, with Oliver and Madoka being the other two of course.” Martin continued when it was clear that his son wasn't going to.

Perking up at this news, Mai grinned. “That sounds interesting. I don't suppose you have any good stories to tell?” She asked. There would be plenty of time to get stories from people when she visited on Monday of course, but she couldn't help but take the chance that was offered to her.

Much to her excitement, they were more than happy to entertain her questions; telling her stories of various situations that made Mai laugh over the next hour before she'd excused herself to get a drink and find something to eat, needing a break from all the socialising even if just for a moment.

Naru seemed to be thinking the same thing as he walked with her over to the side of the room grabbing a glass and checking it was plain juice again before handing it off to Mai and waiting for her to pick out a couple of bits of finger food to nibble on.

“Let's go get some fresh air.” He suggested, already moving towards the back of the hall where the doors opened into a large balcony. There were only a couple of people out there and Mai shivered a little, dress moving in the cool wind as they took a place over to the right, Naru leaning against the wall.

“I don't think I mentioned it tonight, but you do look beautiful.” Oliver stated finally after they stood in silence for a few minutes.

Mai blushed at the compliment, looking down at the ground. It was a sentiment that she'd heard numerous times over the night, but she'd be lying if she didn't feel like hearing it from Naru made all the difference.

Swallowing thickly, she smiled. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft, “I would say that you look handsome, but I think you already know that.”

Naru smirked a little at the tease. “Of course.” He agreed, just to see her roll her eyes in false exasperation.

The mirth faded quickly however as he remembered the real reason why he'd wanted to get Mai away from everyone for a few moments.

“What actually happened with Sonya Miller?” He asked carefully, straight to the point.

Mai hummed, not bothering to deny that something had happened. There had been too much animosity when Naru had been standing there to even bother pretending otherwise.

“She tried to threaten me. She didn't like the response.” Mai answered finally.

At his raised eyebrow, Mai rolled her eyes. “She seemed to be under the mistaken impression that you would become interested in her if she kept me away from you, and I simply decided to correct her misunderstanding. She didn't like what I had to say and told me that I was a nobody and she'd have me sued, and when I told her she didn't have a leg to stand on she got angrier.” She explained, rubbing lightly at her arm, parts of it turning blue-black as fresh bruises formed where Sonya's fingers had dug in tighter.

Reaching out, Oliver grabbed her arm gently, looking over it with a frown. “You should tell someone about this. I don't want to have anyone that violent associated with our profession.”

The brunette shook her head quickly. “Don't bother. It's just a bruise, it'll be gone in no time.” She assured him, trying to pull her arm back, and huffing when his grip remained firm.

Naru narrowed his eyes. “You're being an idiot.” He informed her.

“So, what else is new?” Mai couldn't help but shoot back.

Sighing, the older man couldn't help but shake his head, irritation clear. “Stupid.”

As if acting on instinct, Oliver leaned over to press a gentle kiss to the spot where the bruises were forming (bruises that were a result of Mai hanging around _him_ ), smirking at the way Mai's cheeks went a new shade of red and she pulled her arm back again. This time he let her go, turning back towards the hall instead. “We should head back in; it'll be time for things to finish up soon.”

It took a moment for his words to register before Mai was following him quickly, cheeks still red as she glared at his retreating back; completely unaware that he was just as flustered as she was at his actions.

“Naru, you jerk! Wait up.” She huffed.

Oliver's lips twitched as he slowed down but didn't stop completely, turning to her with a raised eyebrow. “Oh? To think just a couple hours ago I was _Noll_.”

Mai's cheeks flared even redder as blood rushed towards them, her teeth biting down into her lip.

“Now you're just being plain mean.” She complained. “That's the last time I try to save you from fangirls that make you uncomfortable.”

Oliver didn't respond to that, but he didn't need to. They both knew it was a lie. Mai was too nice, she cared too much to let him truly suffer.

As things began to wrap up for the night, Mai couldn't help but yawn, eyes watering slightly as she fought the urge to fall asleep.

Rolling his eyes, Naru grabbed her arm gently, pulling her towards where his parents and Madoka were. “Let's say good night to these idiots and then I'll get you home before you fall asleep standing.”

Mai hummed, not listening so much as hearing words in her exhaustion and letting them roll over her, Naru's voice was more soothing that she would have thought.

There was a chuckle right next to her and Mai tilted her head in confusion. Had she said that aloud?

“Yes, Mai, you're speaking out loud, and if you don't want Madoka to hear you I suggest you stop.”

Mai huffed. _“Jerk.”_ She grumbled; but admitted at least to herself that he had a point.

As they came to a stop in front of her friends, they took one look at Mai and gave Oliver a knowing look.

“You'd better get her back to her hotel before she passes out on you Noll.” Luella advised, waving them away quickly.

“ _Not going to pass out.”_ Mai denied, pouting a little.

Madoka shook her head. _“Of course not.”_ She agreed. _“But you're better off leaving anyway. Goodnight Mai.”_

“ _Night.”_

Guiding Mai gently towards the car, Oliver kept one eye on Mai as she walked mostly steady, taking the stairs slowly so that she didn't fall, and he was relieved when they finally made it to the top.

Shivering from the late-night air as they approached the exit, Mai silently lamented the fact that she hadn't thought to bring something to keep herself warm.

Noting her shivering, Oliver rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his jacket with a sigh, draping it over Mai without a word.

Jumping a little in surprise at the sudden feeling of warm fabric, Mai was too tired to feel embarrassed as she mumbled out her thanks, wrapping herself up in his jacket and relishing in its warmth as they continued to walk in silence.

It had been a good night, and Mai couldn't help but smile a she touched the spot where Naru had pressed a kiss earlier, her stomach fluttering slightly.

She was too tired to try and comprehend what it meant, but she had to wonder; did Naru want them to be platonic, or was he after something different?

And when her head finally hit the pillow, that same question was still running through her mind.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*I do not own this line. This is a direct quote for those that don't recognise it from volume 12 of the original ghost hunt manga, right after Naru turns Mai down.

**I have an image of this dress as well if anyone needs it since I feel terrible when I try to describe clothing.

***If anyone can give me a better timeline for this I'd really appreciate this. I keep meaning to look up how long exactly Mai works for SPR but I keep forgetting and then by the time I need the information again I'm out of time to do it then (because as mentioned, I'm terrible at anything other than procrastination). Although if no-one knows, I'll go take a look for myself.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that it's already been two weeks since the last time I wrote for this. Since then I've started a 30 day writing challenge, so getting all my updates out this weekend while trying to keep the daily prompts going (and then, because I'm an idiot, I've also agreed to spend tomorrow night DMing). I struggled a lot to get this story going, and it was really hard for me to get into a flow, but by the time I hit the end I knew where I was going with the plot again, so hopefully it's not too all over the place. I tried, with the editing, but it still might be on the bad side, especially giving my situation at the moment (house mate issues on top of general stress over getting 15 000 words written this weekend), so let me know if you see mistakes and I'll fix them up.
> 
> As always, there's a little bit on Mai and Naru's respective psyche's and perspectives on their situations, so hopefully you guys enjoy that as well. Leave a review and let me know if you did, or if you have suggestions, or ideas of things that you want to see happen!

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

_Case request_

**Chapter Six**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Waking without the sound of her shrill alarm was something that Mai wasn't used to anymore. Rolling over, she relished in the comfort of the warm sheets for a moment longer before sighing and pushing herself out of bed.

Padding around the room, she moved through her morning at a sedate pace, getting changed into something comfortable. Today was her first chance to relax since she'd arrived, and the clock blinking ten o'clock at her seemed to mimic that feeling.

Humming to herself, Mai debated over whether to go shopping now or later; before conceding to herself that she would probably get too lost in her work, so she should probably get everything else out of the way first.

Slipping into a jacket, she headed out of her room, checking her door was locked after she double checked her things.

It didn't take long for her to make her way outside, shivering a little at the change in temperature as she bundled herself up a little better for the cool day.

Walking down the streets, Mai kept an eye out for anywhere interesting, not really looking for a specific shop, mostly just trying to find somewhere to pick up some souvenirs for the team back in Japan.

It was the better part of two hours before she was happy with the things she'd managed to buy, a few bags on her arm as she made her way back to the hotel to sit down and get her work done.

Sighing as she pulled out her laptop, she set down the hot chocolate that she'd bought on the way back from a nearby café before quickly settling into a writing rhythm, content to sit there and work.

Before Mai even realised, nearly five hours had passed by and her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't had much to eat that day.

Checking the time, she blinked when it told her it was about time to be getting dinner.

Pushing herself back from the desk, after checking that her work was saved, Mai grabbed her purse and headed downstairs to feed herself. Only to return a little under an hour later and sit back at her desk and continue working.

The rest of the night flew by and before Mai knew it, she needed to be heading to bed so that she was rested for her trip to BSPR the next day.

Sighing, she saved her work a couple more times to be sure, before getting up and heading towards the bathroom; showering before she changed, ready for bed.

Flopping onto the soft mattress, she blinked sleepily as her exhaustion finally seemed to hit, falling asleep almost immediately.

Waking the next morning, Mai blinked groggily as she tried to figure out the time with bleary eyes.

Wiping away some of the sleep, she groaned when she realised it was only a little after five in the morning and she didn't need to be getting up yet.

Her alarm hadn't been the thing to wake her, but she felt like something had.

Sighing, she tried to focus on that feeling, unsure of what to make of it.

For a second, she thought she could hear the mutterings of a man, but it was gone as soon as it came.

Frowning, she noted it down for a later point when she was more awake to figure out what was going on.

Forcing herself from the bed, Mai frowned at how sweaty she felt. Had she dreamed and not remembered it?

It was a weird situation that she'd never experienced before, and she didn't much like how it made everything feel. Heading for the bathroom, she opted to shower again and wash the sweat from her body, relaxing under the warm spray and the light pressure on her back.

Getting out all too soon, she dressed herself for the day. Idly noting that she could make it to the communal breakfast that they always ran if she wanted, before heading over to BSPR for the day.

Nodding to herself in agreement, she grabbed her things after getting changed, heading downstairs just as they opened the breakfast at six in the morning, taking her time to eat through a large plate of food before she called a cab*, waiting inside the lobby where it was warm for it to arrive.

By the time she reached BSPR it was eight in the morning and her fatigue was being overrun by her excitement.

Entering the building, she smiled brightly at the receptionist.

“Good Morning, Miss, how can I help you today?”

“Good Morning. I'm here to take a tour of the facilities and speak with some people. I believe the appointment was made with Martin Davis under the name Fuji Katsumi?”

The receptionist nodded, searching over a couple of lists before nodding again. Placing a clip board in front of Mai, she handed over a pen. “Please sign in here, and make sure to sign out also. This is your visitor badge, please wear it as well.”

Mai nodded in agreement, clipping the badge on and signing her name on the sheet of paper.

“I'll call Dr Davis to let him know that you're here-” The receptionist started.

“Don't worry about it, Carroll. I'll take her to see him.”

Spinning around at the familiar voice, the brunette smiled widely at Madoka, giving her a quick hug. “Madoka! It's only been a day, but it feels like ages.”

The pink-haired woman giggled. “I know what you mean. Come on, I'll show you to Martin's office and then we can get the boring things out of the way and make time for more fun activities.” She joked, winking.

Rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Mai followed her down the hall, noting the layout with ease; she realised that on the left hand side were the different heads of the BSPR teams, with Madoka's being the second closest to reception which would explain why the other woman had noticed that Mai was here.

Reaching the end of the hall, Mai giggled at the fact that Naru's office was opposite Martin’s, rolling her eyes at Madoka's knowing look. “I'll just grab Martin and then I can show you around properly.” She promised.

Mai shrugged. “If he's busy then it's fine. I have all day.”

Madoka shook her head. “He shouldn't be. You had a proper appointment, right? They won't have double booked him.”

Nodding in understanding, Mai waited patiently as Madoka knocked on the door before slipping inside without waiting for a response, reminding her of how often she'd done the same to Naru back when she worked for him.

Throwing the memory aside, she grinned when Madoka opened the door and gestured for her to come in as well.

“Good morning Mai. How have you been the past couple of days?” Martin greeted, smiling.

Mai smiled back. “I've been alright. I went souvenir shopping yesterday and got plenty of work done; so I'm ready to see what you guys can offer me information wise so I can keep the ball rolling.”

Chuckling, Martin nodded. “I'm glad to hear you're so keen. We'll take you on a tour of the area first, then I'll set you up in the filing room where we keep the past cases so that you can have a look through, if you prefer. You'll be more than welcome to bother anyone with questions as well. I'll introduce you along the way.” He promised.

Bouncing a little in her spot, Mai grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”

Satisfied with her agreement, Martin gave Madoka a pointed look. “Thank you for escorting Mai, now I believe you have some work you need to be getting done. You can catch up with Mai again during your lunch break.”

Madoka pouted, before sighing when she realised it was having zero effect. “Fine.” She agreed; voice despondent. “I'm stealing her for an hour this afternoon though!”

Knowing to pick his battles, Martin just nodded in agreement before shooing her off, waiting until she had left and the door clicked shut, before he turned back to Mai.

Giggling when he made a show of sighing in exasperation, she gave him a sympathetic look. “You have a good handle on her, considering her natural tendencies as a whirlwind.” She praised.

Martin chuckled. “It took a lot of time and practice. I always try to remember the days when Madoka was a little more timid, only to realise that they're a figment of my imagination and that she's always been this over the top.”

Laughing, Mai nodded in understanding.

“Come along, I'll show you the upstairs layout.” Martin insisted, opening the door to his office to let her out, before stepping out himself and starting off back down the hallway. “No doubt you noticed that our lead investigators are all in the offices along here, and I encourage you to go and bother Noll at some point, he spent all yesterday working without much of a break. Perhaps you can convince him out to lunch.”

His tone was teasing, and Mai couldn't help herself as she blushed slightly at the implications.

“If you're going to tease me like this then maybe I should just go and hide in his office instead.” She grumbled half-heartedly.

Chuckling, Martin shook his head. “You could, but then you'd miss out on the rest of BSPR and while I'm sure Noll could be convinced to show you around, he hates interacting with the other members of the teams so it's likely he would brush over them.”

Mai sighed dramatically. “No wonder Madoka and you get along.” She lamented.

Rolling his eyes, Martin waved towards the rooms opposite the offices. “The vetting and calling room right next to my office leads to the filing office, because it's just behind there and also connects to my office as well. Next to that is testing room A. It's for baseline tests that have a danger rating of 0. I think Oliver mentioned that you took one like it when they figured out whether or not you were a latent psychic?” He offered.

Nodding, Mai thought back to the test she'd taken. “The one where I had to click the button in front of the light bulbs and guess which one would light up.” She agreed.

Martin nodded. “Yes. There are a couple other similar tests as well. Those are conducted in there. We have a separate bunker, down those stairs at the end of the hallway, where all the other testing rooms are located.” He explained.

Taking in this information, the brunette nodded.

“Then next to that we have the interview room. After we vet someone's request for help, they get called in for a formal interview so we can gain more details of the case. If we already know which team we're sending then those can be done in their offices, but when that's still undecided the interviews take place in there.” He continued.

Mai nodded in understanding. It was a different dynamic to what she was used to, having been with a single team that wasn't interchangeable with other teams.

Continuing back along, Martin moved up to the next door. “This is where we have the shared offices for the teams that our leaders run.”

Swinging the door open, he motioned for Mai to step in after him.

Shutting the door behind herself, Mai found herself in large office room, with the centre of the room dominated by four corner desks with dividers set up. She noted that there was a printer over in the corner of the room as well, as the four people at the desks stopped typing to look over at the presence of the new people.

“The other four look like this, but I figured that you'd like to meet these people the most.” He informed.

Mai gave him a confused look.

“This is Noll's team.”

The brunette blinked for a moment before understanding dawned. She hadn't really considered it until now, but if Naru was a leader, he had to have a team to lead. It was an odd thought.

“Are you going to introduce us, Dr Davis, or just keep talking like we aren't here?” One of the men teased.

“Taniyama-san.” Lin greeted, appearing from behind one of the two desks that Mai couldn't see because of the divider.

“Lin- _san_! How are you?” She greeted.

The older man offered her a twitch of the lips. “Exhausted.”

Mai laughed. “Because of Naru, Madoka, or both?”

The look that she got in response made her laugh harder. “Both it is. Just remember who decided to marry her.” She teased.

Lin huffed, raising an eyebrow. “I think mine's a little easier to handle than yours.” He grunted; eyes teasing even though his tone wasn't.

Throwing her hands up, Mai ignored the red she knew was covering her cheeks. “Not you too. You were supposed to be the reasonable one.” She sighed.

Shaking his head, Lin didn't bother to respond to that.

“I'll take that as a ‘no’ to introductions then.” The same man grumbled, making Mai blink and reconsider her manners.

“This is Mai Taniyama. She worked for Oliver when he was in Japan.” Martin introduced before pointing to the other three people in the room. “The one who keeps speaking is Roy, the girl over there is Tiffany, and the other man is Thomas.”

Mai bowed shortly, smiling. “It's nice to meet you all.”

Roy blinked in surprise before smiling. “You too. Working for the other Dr Davis, that would have been fun.” He joked.

Tilting her head, Mai grinned. “Of course it was. Do you enjoy working under him?”

Thomas interrupted before Roy could speak, likely concerned that the other man would say something stupid, giving a pointed look towards Martin and Lin. “Of course we do. Dr Davis knows a lot about this subject and he's good at figuring things out quickly. We all value his expertise, even if he can be a little difficult to deal with that times.”

Mai laughed a little at that, noting the way that Martin sighed next to her, a look of defeat on his wizened features.

“He's easier to deal with than you make it seem.” The brunette stated, sounding unconvinced of her own words as she recalled her own experiences working with Naru in the beginning. “Although, that could be just me.”

Lin scoffed. “Definitely.”

Tiffany blinked a little, her face slightly awed. “You're like Madoka. I've never heard Lin speak this much outside of case work.”

Remembering what Lin was like in Japan a lot of the time, Mai just shook her head. “I'm no Madoka, but thanks for the compliment.”

The other girl shrugged but didn't look convinced.

“All of these offices connect to each other, and through the back there is the staff break room which connects to the toilets.” Martin continues.

Mai nodded in understanding, making mental notes so that she could find things later.

Just as Martin was about to offer to show her back to the file room so she could do her own research, the door clicked open behind them and Oliver stepped in, blinking at the sight of Mai.

“I was unaware that today was the day you were coming, Mai.”

Rolling her eyes, Mai smiled at him. “Hello to you too, Naru. How are you?”

Waving her off, Naru moved towards Lin's desk, ignoring his father and the rest of the room. “You might as well take a look at this as well since you're here. You might be able to glean something from it.” He threw over his shoulder, placing the file down on the older man’s desk and letting him read over it quickly before handing it over to a curious Mai when she made her way over.

Martin chuckled. “Since you're here, I trust that you can help Mai get set up in the filing room later on? I have some work that I should be getting back to.”

Sighing like it was a hardship, Oliver nodded. “I suppose I can make time.” He agreed.

Rolling her eyes, Mai huffed. “Don't bother if it causes you that much difficulty to walk in the same direction you'll already be going in with me at the same time.” She huffed.

Oliver smirked. “I won't bother then.” He agreed.

“Jerk.”

Shaking his head, Martin left them to it, mouthing a 'good luck' to Lin who already looked as though he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Reading over the file, Mai frowned.

_After moving into a new home only weeks ago, my wife and I have constantly felt haunted. Sometimes I wake and hear a male voice muttering to itself about not being mad, and other times we both hear the sound of floorboards being ripped up. In the middle of the night every now and then, the bedroom door will open and the feeling of being watched will return, and it's always at midnight. Nothing violent has happened yet, but I can't sleep any more out of fear that something might happen. Please help us._

The overview was intriguing, no doubt why Naru was giving it this much time of day, but there was something about it that was niggling at the back of her mind.

“Thoughts?” Naru asked, watching the brunette carefully.

Mai hummed. “I'm not sure. Something feels familiar, but I'm not sure just yet. I'll think on it for the moment and if I figure it out, I'll let you know.” She promised, frowning still.

Oliver nodded. “I suppose it was too much to ask for.” He teased, smirking.

“Don't be a jerk about it.” She huffed, crossing her arms as she shot him an unimpressed look.

“Just stating facts.”

Sighing at the smirk on his face, Mai shook her head. “Seriously Naru. Today is a weird day. I feel like I had a dream last night, but I don't remember anything at all. I have a feeling it might be connected to this.” She informed.

Frowning at the crease between Mai's eyebrows, Oliver shook his head. “You'll have to wait and see if it comes back to you, or if you dream it again then. Don't think too hard on it.”

Pressing a finger to the frown, he smirked when her face flushed pink as she blinked in shock, before he turned and started heading back out of the room.

“I need everyone to start the preliminary research for this case. I'll be calling them in for a formal interview, but I want to get ahead of it.” Oliver informed, stopping just before the door and turning to his team.

Roy blinked in shock. “Normally we wait until after the interview before we start research. Are you sure that this is a legit case?” He inquired, frowning slightly.

Narrowing his eyes, Oliver trained his glare on Roy, room feeling as though it were dropping in temperature.

“Seriously, Roy?” Thomas hissed, glaring at his co-worker.

“If I wanted your opinion on my decisions, Mr Jones, I would have asked.” He informed the other man coldly.

Mai shook her head at the hostile display. “Stop it, Naru. How the hell do you even work with these people if all you do is glare at them?” She scolded lightly.

He turned his glare towards her, but the brunette didn't even flinch, rolling her eyes instead.

“Mai.”

“Naru.”

Glaring harder, he lamented the lack of result when she continued to stare back at him easily.

“Fine.” He accepted, turning and leaving the room, door shutting loudly behind him.

Looking over her shoulder, Mai shook her head at the exasperation on Lin's face. “Tell me you at least try to talk back to him when he's like that.” She demanded, looking over the faces of the people in the room and groaning at the look of disbelief she got in return.

“No wonder he's so hard for you all to handle, you don't even try.”

Tiffany huffed a little. “It's not that easy. If we try to speak up, he can fire us, and we have to deal with him in a terrible mood for the rest of the day.” She tried to explain.

Mai frowned. “Keeping silent about it isn't going to make it _stop_ though.” She pointed out, voice a little more gentle. “Naru is hard to earn respect from, but if you manage it, he's way more likely to listen to your worries and explain things to you. If you weren't his team, I wouldn't care, but I can't trust you all too have his back in the field when he still treats you like this.”

“But our jobs-” Thomas tried, only to receive a head shake.

“I _always_ argued with Naru when I worked for him, and I can _guarantee_ that having that job was more important to me, than this one is to you. And that's not even considering the fact that there's no way Martin would let Naru fire you for _disagreeing_ with him.” She shook her head in disbelief at the very idea.

Looking over at Lin, she glared slightly. “Why haven't you explained this, or gotten Madoka to, or something?”

The older man just looked at her blankly before returning to his work.

Sighing at the lack of help, she looked at the rest of his team with exasperation. “I'm being serious. You were right to question whether or not to start researching, and ask for clarification, and if you'd showed more interest before now, he might have explained to you that I have ESP, and he trusts my instincts. So, when I told him this case was legitimate, he was putting his faith in my abilities, and by extension, me.”

Tiffany gave her a wide-eyed look. “Do you think we could earn that kind of respect and trust?”

Mai shrugged. “That depends on you. I've told you a couple of the things you need to do, applying yourself to your work without complaint and going out of your way to learn will help, but it's more up to will power. His attitude to you isn't going to change over-night, but if you work for it, I don't see why not. I'm hardly the only person that Naru is willing to deal with, after all.”

Content with her explanation, Mai turned towards the door and made her way out, leaving the group with a lot to think about as she walked towards the filing room.

Stepping into the vetting and calling room, she noticed that there were four desks, one in each corner of the room, three females and a male working at them, all on the phones.

Quietly, she made her way through and entered the room at the back that was labelled 'file room'.

Turning on the light switch, she blinked in surprise at the cabinets that covered the room, and the shelves in the middle. It wasn't a huge room, the size of an office, with only a single table with a couple chairs off to the side.

Wandering through, she noted the system that they used for filing, figuring out that things were filed based on their severity, and from there they were filed based on the activity.

Humming a little to herself, she dug through the ones on the far side of the room in the cabinet labelled with the number 10, implying they had been the most dangerous, and some of them remained unsolved.

Grabbing a few files, she moved over to the desk and set herself up, reading over them and making notes of ideas in a notebook she had brought with her.

Time seemed to fly by, and before she knew it, she was being interrupted by her stomach.

Glancing at the time on her phone, she sighed when she noticed that it read that it was nearly one in afternoon.

Stretching, Mai forced herself away from her work for the moment, shutting her notebook and putting it into her bag away from prying eyes.

 _'Time to go bother Naru, I guess.'_ She thought, grinning a little.

Heading to Naru's office, she knocked lightly before swinging it open without waiting, grinning at the irritation on his face.

“You realise most people wait until they're told to enter.” He scolded.

Mai shrugged. “Have I ever waited before?” She shot back.

Sighing, Oliver rolled his eyes. “What do you want?”

Pouting, Mai shook her head at his attitude. “Come on. We're going to get something to eat. There's no way you've eaten today yet, and I'm hungry so you're coming with.” She informed.

Glaring, Naru turned back to his work. “I'm busy.”

Walking over to his desk, Mai shut the file he'd been reading. “And now you're not. Come on, Naru. It's not going to kill you to get something to eat.” She scolded. “You're smart enough to know that.”

Sighing, Oliver forced himself away from the desk. “Fine.” He agreed.

Mai sighed at him. “You're being especially difficult today, any particular reason?” She asked, tilting her head and giving him the most open expression she could.

It seemed weird for him to be like this after they had been more than fine only days ago.

Unless...

Recalling the kiss, she flushed slightly. Maybe he was embarrassed? It would be a little delayed, but it was the only reason she could think of for him to be acting like this even when it was just the two of them.

“Don't worry about it.” Oliver insisted.

Mai let it go for the moment. “Do you know of anywhere good to eat around here?” She asked, not really wanting to be in the break room where everyone else was going to be, especially with Naru acting so hot and cold.

Sighing, but not bothering to answer her, Oliver grabbed her arm gently, dragging her out of the building without caring to sign them out.

They continued to walk like that, Mai struggling to keep up with his longer legs until they reached a cafe around five minutes later.

Blinking at it, Mai grinned, turning to smile at Naru before stepping inside and reading over the menu.

“What are you getting?” She asked, unsure of what to get herself as she looked over all the options, biting her lip.

Oliver scanned the menu. “A ham and cheese croissant, and an earl grey.” He decided easily.

Mai hummed. “I know I want a hot chocolate, but I don't know what I feel like eating.” She admitted. “Maybe just a toasted chicken, cheese, and avocado sandwich?”

Nodding, Oliver stepped up to the counter, ordering for them both and paying before the brunette could argue.

Grabbing their table number, he took a seat at a table, Mai sitting across from him with a huff.

“I could have paid for myself.” She pointed out.

Oliver didn't respond to that. Of course he knew that she could, but it was his way of apologising for being so rude.

Not that he was going to tell her that.

“Going to tell me why you've been so annoyed today?”

 _'Maybe the fact that I realised that you're the only woman I can stand to be around and you're leaving me in just over a week and I don't want to get any closer to you because I already know that I'm going to miss you.'_ Noll informed her mentally, scoffing at his own thoughts.

“I'm always annoyed, Mai.” He reminded her.

“Not like this.”

Shaking his head, Oliver lamented the fact that this woman had always been able to read him so well. “I don't want to talk about it.”

Mai hummed. “Okay.” She agreed, not wanting to push any further. “Then what do you want to talk about?”

The case seemed like an easy enough topic, so he responded with that, smirking at the exasperation on Mai's face and ignoring the way everything was making him feel.

“There's more to life than just work.” Mai reminded gently.

“Now you sound like a terrible self-help book.”

Rolling her eyes, Mai threw her hands up. “You're hopeless. Fine. What about the case? I told you I don't remember whatever I dreamed about last night and that hasn't changed.”

Oliver considered that for a moment. “How did you know that you had a dream? Were there signs other than just 'having a feeling' that indicated it?” He inquired.

Mai nodded. “Yeah, I was sweaty, my heart was beating a little faster than usual, and I could just, feel it. I only ever get like that when I go through a dream, usually something more terrible and gruesome. But usually I remember it after wards. I can't figure out why I didn't this time.” She sighed.

“It's possible that the ghost could interfere with the dreams if he knew that you were having them.” Naru mused, frowning a little.

Sighing, Mai frowned into her hot chocolate that she couldn't remember being set down in front of her but felt all the more comforted by as she took a sip, relaxing into its warmth.

“I don't like not knowing.” She admitted softly. “I feel like there's a spirit trying to reach out to me and gain help, and I'm letting them down by not being able to respond.”

Noll shook his head. “You can't control whether or not the spirits reach you, outside of your own ability to alter your dream scape.” He reminded her.

“I know, but it doesn't make it any easier.”

“What about your other dream from during the convention?” He inquired.

Mai blinked a little. “I had forgotten about that.” She revealed. “Or well, I didn't forget the dream. But I didn't think it could be related. Do you think it might be?”

Oliver considered this for a moment. “It's possible. Can you tell me about it so that I can file the information away for later?”

Nodding, Mai took a deep breath before she started to explain everything that she could remember from the dream that she'd had nights before.

Just as she was finishing up, fighting the urge to shiver at the image of those eyes watching her once more, their food arrived.

Plate in front of her, Mai wasn't as hungry as earlier after recounting her dream, but she bit into her food anyway, chewing slowly.

“Would you like to come on this case with us?” Oliver offered after a moment.

Blinking, Mai took a moment to process that, 'yes' Naru had just said that, and 'yes' he looked completely serious about it.

Swallowing her food, she washed it down with a sip of hot chocolate before responding.

“Only if I'm coming as a consultant party, on an educational basis. I don't need to be paid by you, and I'm not going to spend the entire time making you tea.” She bargained.

Oliver rolled his eyes, before nodding in assent. “I'll let the team know. There's some paperwork you'll have to sign when we return after this, but it's nothing over the top.”

Content that they'd reached an agreement, and happy that she'd be able to watch over Naru this case at least, Mai finished her food with renewed vigour, humming contently as she finished.

Rolling his eyes, Oliver finished off his earl grey before moving to stand. “I assume that this was a long enough break from work, by your standards, to allow my return without complaint?”

Mai laughed. “Yes, it was. Your mother's going to be so proud to hear that you took a break for once.”

“She's going to be _insufferable_.”

They all had been, ever since the ball. They'd mention Mai like something was going to happen between them at the drop of a hat, content to tease while forgetting that this was something that he did in fact want and _couldn't have_.

Two weeks.

He just had to make it through two weeks and then it would probably be the wedding when he saw Mai again.

That thought made him as irritated as it made him grateful. Emotions were annoying and hard to deal with and he would thank them to go away as quickly as possible.

Walking back to the office at a slower pace this time, they enjoyed the silence for a few moments before they stepped back into the office; Naru ignoring the look the receptionist was giving them for leaving without signing out earlier, rolling his eyes at Mai's apologetic look.

Trailing after Naru, Mai paused when she got to the vetting room, smiling at Naru. “I'll stop by just before I leave later on so that I can sign the paperwork and we can go over any of the other details that I need to know then.” She offered.

Oliver nodded in agreement. “Don't leave it too late.”

Rolling her eyes, Mai grinned. “What does the great Oliver Davis deem as 'too late'? Ten at night?”

Naru scoffed. “I'm not _that_ bad.” He lied. “Stop by before six preferably. Seven at the latest.”

“Got it.” Mai promised, opening the door and stepping back through; she headed into the filing room and settled back into her seat quickly, falling into her work with ease.

Hours seemed to fly by before Mai resurfaced, shutting her notebook quietly before slipping it away. A quick check of the time told her that it had been another three hours and it was almost six o'clock.

Sighing, the moved quickly to put the files back into place before swinging her bag over her shoulder and setting out.

She wasn't surprised to notice that the people who had been working in the other room had all left already as she stepped into the hall, noting that only a couple of the rooms still had lights on.

Knocking on Naru's door, she slipped in.

“Do you have that paperwork for me?” She asked, instead of greeting him.

Forcing his attention away from the book he had been reading, Olive noted the time absently as he pushed a small file to the front of the desk.

“Cutting it close.” He teased, smirk pulling at his lips.

Mai huffed. “I'm still on time.” She shot back, pulling one of the two chairs in front of his desk closer and settling in, stealing a pen from in front of Naru as she read over the paperwork.

Everything seemed to be pretty standard, mostly waivers for her safety in the event of a case getting violent to protect BSPR from being sued, and a piece that was dedicated to her understanding the risks that she was undertaking. Signing off at the bottom on them and then dating it all, she passed them back to Naru.

“Do you know when you're heading out for the case yet, or are you waiting until after the interviews to decide?”

Oliver gave her a deadpan look, reminding her so much of when she didn't know anything about ghost hunting and would ask questions that Naru thought had obvious answers.

“I'll contact you and let you know as soon as I have information on when we'll be going. The interviews are being conducted tomorrow, so I imagine we will be leaving on either Tuesday, or Wednesday.”

Nodding in understanding, Mai pouted when she realised that she'd have to catch the lectures in the following week, just before she left instead of this coming week, provided the case finished before then.

It would be a good chance for her to say goodbye as well, because she'd be leaving the next day or rather, late that night.

It was weird to think about. Unlike when she had travelled in the past and everything felt like a true holiday (especially when she took a 'family vacation' with Bou-san and Ayako), her time in England felt more like returning home. She had spent so much of her time being surrounded by people she'd missed, and growing close to others, that she'd forgotten how short her stay was. Almost a week in, and she already knew she'd be missing it when she returned home.

The thought of home sent a shock of homesickness through her, and the urge to call Ayako and Bou-san became strong. She'd sent them a few messages every now and then, but she hadn't spoken to them since that first day.

Swallowing thickly, she smiled at Naru. “I'm exhausted. I'm heading back to my hotel now. Don't forget to call me and let me know the details.” She reminded, voice a little strained.

Oliver frowned, concerned at the sudden change. He wasn't sure how to breach the subject though, unaccustomed to dealing with this sort of thing – unaccustomed to _wanting_ to help someone in this situation.

“Would you like a ride?” He offered instead.

Mai blinked a little, before realising that maybe she shouldn't actually be this shocked. Naru had been driving her places since she got to England after all.

Smiling a little, homesickness still present but less formidable in the face of the man she cared for, and who (at least seemed to) care for her as well.

 _'Not love. Not right now.'_ She admitted to herself honestly.

It had been too long, and while time had healed many wounds and her heart ached for something more with Naru, she couldn't call what she felt love. Not yet.

 _'Probably not ever.'_ She reminded herself. Soon she'd be leaving, and she'd keep in touch with Naru this time – she'd make sure of it – but there was almost zero chance of him getting into a relationship with her. Not between the distance issues and his own personal ones.

The question of 'Me or Gene' was still one that rung in her head, and it was hard to get past it.

And there was another issue as well. She didn't want to put herself in a position where she would get hurt again like last time.

Breathing deeply before releasing it slowly, she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.

Realising that she had never answered Naru, and he was watching her closely with a frown, Mai smiled. “If it's not going out of your way then a ride would be nice.” She agreed.

“Let me grab my things and lock things up, then we can head out.” Oliver promised, already moving to get up from his chair, packing a bunch of his files into a briefcase quickly, rolling his eyes at the amused look Mai was sending him.

“The point of going home is to get _away_ from the work, you know that right?” Mai teased.

Oliver scoffed. “You're a writer, Mai. You _only_ work from home.”

Huffing, Mai conceded to that with a slight grin. “Sure, but back in Japan I have an office, and I don't bring my work anywhere else in the house. I saw your lounge, Naru. You work _everywhere_.”

He didn't bother to respond to that, picking up his wallet and keys from where he'd put them on the desk earlier, keeping the keys in his hand but tucking his wallet away.

Stepping out of his office, he waited for Mai to leave as well before he locked it up, not bothering to explain that he didn't trust the people he worked with to leave things alone.

She didn't question it.

They walked in silence together down the hall, Mai stopping to sign herself out, even though the woman from reception was long gone.

Oliver rolled his eyes and fought the urge to smile at her action.

Exiting the building, he walked around to the small carpark that they had, Mai following slowly, before they both slipped into his car.

Smiling, Mai snuggled into her warm jacket, content now that she was back in the warmth.

She would call Ayako and Bou-san later tonight when they were getting up, and then they could catch up.

Until then, she allowed herself to enjoy Naru's presence; accepting the easy silence between them and not feeling the need to fill it.

As buildings passed by, she let her thoughts wander again, landing on the case that they were about to attend.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get past the feeling that there was something important that she was missing that might be helpful on the case, that she saw during her dream, but couldn't remember.

It was like an itch under her skin that she couldn't get to in order to scratch, and it was infuriating.

Groaning, she let her head fall back, glancing to the side to see Naru, focussed on the road still, but vaguely amused by her. Naturally.

“Hey Naru, why are you so cold to your team?” She asked, suddenly remembering something she had wanted to ask him about.

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows. “They aren't worth my time yet. None of them have showed prowess in a particular area and they lack initiative. The team members are always the top five graduates from Cambridge, or other people who have experience in ghost hunting to back themselves up. Everyone is vetted thoroughly and anyone who isn't on par for a junior investigator position but shows a high level of potential is offered one of the intern positions, or a position in the calling/vetting department. We don't hire those who don't understand the paranormal. Martin always gives me the number one student, and has for the past three years, but none of them have showed that their marks reflect their real-life ability. They know the theories but lack the forethought to apply them in a real situation. When they can do that, then I will consider giving them the time of day.” He explained.

And the fact that he explained at all made Mai grin, because by his own reckoning she was on the list of people 'worth giving the time of day to.' It was hard to be sure after so long (although she couldn't remember a time where she had actually been ignored by Naru. He had always explained things to her, even if he was a jerk about it...), but it warmed her heart to know.

Even better, was the fact that his explanation lined up perfectly with what she'd said to his team earlier that day.

It was a harsh reality, but it wasn't a surprise. Naru always had hated incompetence after all.

Pulling up in front of her hotel, Oliver raised an eyebrow at the almost proud expression on the brunette's face, unsure as to what had caused it, but preferring it over the sad and despondent looks he'd seen earlier.

“Goodnight Naru. Don't do too much more work tonight, and make sure you eat something.” Mai wished him, stepping out into the cool night air and grinning at his glare.

“Hurry up and get inside before you freeze, idiot.”

Laughing at his characteristic response, Mai shut the door and waved goodbye once more before moving inside, relieved to step into the warmer temperature of the lobby.

Instead of heading straight up to her room, she headed towards the restaurant to get herself something to eat, hungry again after so many hours of work.

Despite that, it was still only eight o'clock when she finished eating and headed upstairs, stress bleeding from her shoulders when the door clicked shut behind her. She felt more relaxed then she had all day.

Rolling her shoulders, she decided to take a bath instead of the shorter showers she had enjoyed over the past couple of days, pouring some sweet-smelling salts into the water as she waited for the tub to fill.

Getting in, she relaxed, letting the heat soothe her tired back and allowing herself to drift mentally for an hour before forcing herself to leave the bath as the water began to cool.

Drying off, she sighed when she noted that it would still be rather early if she were to call them now, but unwilling to climb into bed, already sure that she'd fall asleep as soon as her body hit the mattress.

Setting up at her desk, she lasted another hour of emails and sorting some work things out before she gave in and dialled the number for her adoptive parents.

At first the brunette wasn't sure if they were going to pick up, but then she heard the familiar sound of Ayako on the other end.

Her voice was groggy, clearly having been woken up. _“What?”_

Mai laughed slightly, the rest of her homesickness leaving her at the familiar sound of Ayako being annoyed. _“Sorry, I know it's still early for you, but I missed you and thought I would call before I fell asleep for the night.”_

At the sound of Mai's voice, Ayako seemed to wake up more. _“Oh, don't worry about it, Mai. I don't mind as long as it's you waking me. If it was that useless man on the other hand...”_ She grumbled.

“ _Nope, I'm definitely not Bou-san.”_ Mai agreed, giggling.

“ _Of course not. How are you Mai? It's been a while since we last spoke. How did the ball end up going? Have you learnt a lot? What plans have you made for the rest of your time in London? I can't wait until you're back home again.”_ Ayako gushed, making Mai giggle again.

She did her best to answer her adoptive mother's questions, the smile staying on her face all the while.

When a yawn interrupted her recount of her plans to attend the case with Naru, she heard Ayako tsk.

“ _It sounds to me like you need to sleep. I'm going to let you go, I should get ready for work now anyway. But promise me that you'll be safe on this case. I know you have Lin and Naru, but I never feel good whenever you go on a case without us.”_

Mai felt warm at Ayako's worry. _“I promise I'll be careful.”_

Ayako sighed. _“That's all I ask. Now, off to bed with you Mai. We can talk more another time. Sweet dreams.”_

Smiling softly, understanding that the normal wishes were more of a blessing towards her, than they would be for anyone else.

“ _I hope so.”_ She muttered back, saying good night and hanging up.

Putting her phone on charge, she hit the lamp before turning off the big light and settling into bed. The last thing she remembered before falling unconscious, was Ayako's blessing repeating itself.

“ _Sweet dreams...”_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*Thank you again to the wonderful _**snavej**_ who informed me that England uses both a 'hail' system and a calling/booking system!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to shout at me over at shellsan.tumblr.com!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is a little slow even for my tastes, but it begins to pick up towards the end of this chapter where we get yet another interlude of Mai being a little bit petty (because at this point, I can't imagine her any other way. It's perfect and no-one can convince me otherwise). Naturally, the last thousand or so words were the easiest for me to write, with everything else either being short bursts of inspiration, or considerably slower than usual. Regardless however, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think about the OC's. What do you want to see them become? Any thoughts on what specialities (not necessarily abilities, although those are welcome as well) you'd like to see them have?
> 
> I have an exciting announcement to make. Those of you who read TCOL may already be aware, but I officially have a beta! The lovely waitingforjudgement is my saving grace and she will be editing my works from now on, although any remaining mistakes are of course, my own. She has gotten the previous chapters of Nefelibata edited (although I haven't had a chance to go over them at the time of posting this), so those should be up as soon as I have the time, so if you want to know when that is you can always find updates over on my tumblr which the user name for is shellsan, otherwise I'll let you guys know in an author’s note when it's done. That being said, despite the crazy short timeline, she managed to pull through and get this beta read just in time for posting, so major props for that!
> 
> Also, please note, the Italics information, as mentioned in the chapter key, is Case Information. This information may be triggering for some, so I thought I would place a warning here. It's not very graphic or detailed, but the mentions of death are very clear. Feel free to let me know if you need it summarised for the story purposes because you can't read it.

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

_Case Information_

**Chapter Seven**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

When Mai found herself standing in familiar darkness, she wished she was more surprised than she was. Despite Ayako's wishes towards sweet dreams, she'd had a feeling that she wasn't going to experience them this time.

Turning around, she frowned slightly when a scene didn't seem to appear in front of her.

She could hear the faint mutterings, although she could only make out a couple of words, such as crazy, or successful; none of which were painting a picture in her mind that made a lot of sense.

Regardless, she focused on them, trying to compel her mind to bring forth the images.

For a moment, the blackness seemed to waver, the spirit orbs glowing and moving with it as if the fabric of her consciousness was being moved.

 _'Invaded_.' She supplied herself, at the sudden change in feeling.

Gone was the almost peaceful feeling that usually accompanied her dreamscape, replaced with overwhelming pressure, as if she was being watching.

“You should not be here, no you should not.” A voice said to her.

Mai swung around, heart thumping harshly against her ribcage as she turned to look at the shadow that had been haunting her since her first dream; almost as scary as the sight of those lifeless blue eyes.

Even as the thought crossed her mind, the shadow 'tsk’ed', making her cringe.

“No this will not do, not at all. For you see, you cannot be allowed to see. This is my victory, and I will not share a moment with you.” It hissed.

Before Mai could even truly wonder what the _hell_ that was supposed to mean, she felt a falling sensation and found herself waking in bed.

Her heart was still thumping quickly as she tried to slow her breathing, still confused as to what had just happened, and a little frightened.

That was her spiritual plane. Nothing else should have been able to enter – or to sense her watching.

And yet.

Swallowing thickly, she pushed herself out of bed. She made her way to the kitchenette in her hotel room to grab some cold water, drinking in small measured sips as she considered the situation and the facts.

One, she had been about to see a dream.

Two, the dream had been blacked out, the opposite of the clarity she was used to experiencing. Her clarity was supposedly due to the spirit’s desire for her to see and understand what happened to them. Maybe this was result of the opposite?

Three, the spirit had somehow noticed. It was true that the spirits usually wanted her to see their memories, but outside of that they were usually unaware of her presence.

Four, the shadow, spirit, _thing_ , had been able to invade her mind. They weren't just meeting on the spiritual plane; they were meeting on the spiritual plane in _her mind_. It shouldn't have had the capability to control anything within there, least of all to throw her from her own mind.

Five, the shadow had seemed to know that it was a spirit and had been well aware that it was causing problems. Why?

Mai rubbed gently at her temples, recognising that she was going to need something to eat and some ibuprofen, or something. Her head was starting to hurt, and she had more questions than answers, which was never a good sign.

 _'I should probably call Naru and let him know about everything.'_ She sighed. Hopefully he would be able to provide her with more answers.

The pounding in her head increased, and the brunette groaned. Food and medication first.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was an hour later when Mai felt good enough to contact Naru, relieved when she found the time to be eight in the morning. He was bound to be up by now.

Pressing on his number in her phone, she waited as it rung out, sitting at the desk where she had her laptop set up.

It only took a moment before she heard it being picked up.

“Mai? I haven't even had the interview yet, so you can't possibly be calling me about that. What happened?” Naru asked.

She hadn't even realised just how tense she had been until she felt herself relax at his familiar voice, a small smile forming on her lips. “What if I had just been calling to see how you were doing? You do realise that is a thing that normal people do, right?” She teased lightly.

It didn't take a psychic to know that he was probably glaring at the phone now.

“If that's actually all this is then I'm going to go ahead and hang up. I do have real work to do.”

Mai pouted. “Mean.” She grumbled. “I did actually have a reason to call though. I had a dream – well, I almost had a dream.”

There was silence for a moment, until Naru's voice came through the speaker again, deadpan, and yet somehow confused.

“Almost?”

Mai hummed. “Yep. I'm not sure what happened. I was listening to the mutterings of whoever was in the room, but the 'images' for lack of a better term, weren't in front of me. So I made an effort to force them forward, and somehow the spirit invaded my dreamscape on the spiritual plane. This has never happened to me before Naru, I'm not sure what exactly to do. It threw me from my own mind!”

She couldn't help her aggravation towards the end of her words, irritation still close to the surface even now.

It was quiet on the other end for a couple of minutes and Mai could practically hear him thinking through what she'd just told him; trying to come up with something.

“I'll have to speak with Lin, and check a couple of my books, but you're sure that they threw you from your mind?”

Mai huffed. “I think I would know the difference between being thrown from my mind and leaving of my own volition, Naru.”

“And if your mind protected you by throwing you from it, without your conscious consent?”

Frowning, Mai tried to understand what he meant. “How would that work?”

“The equivalent of the fight or flight response in human behaviour. We follow it based on our own capabilities. Your mind recognised that at current, you could not beat the spirit, so it pushed you back into your physical body. It's only a theory though.” Naru admitted, reluctantly.

“And everything else?”

“I'll have to consultant Lin, like I mentioned. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Are you sure this relates to the case we're supposed to be taking?”

Mai swallowed. “I'm not _sure_ of anything right now. But I do know that the case made _something_ stir with my abilities. It's legitimate.” She promised.

“Then I'll get as much information as I can and call you later tonight.” He decided.

Letting out a breath of relief, Mai nodded before remembering that he couldn't see it. “Sounds good. Talk to you later, Naru. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

The dial tone followed, and the brunette sighed as she set her phone down, frowning, but hopeful.

Naru's explanation for being thrown from her mind could use a little work – to be expected since he didn't have a dreamscape of his own – but it wasn't entirely impossible.

She'd have to trust Naru to find someone to speak with on the subject and let it go for the moment, as much as she didn't want to.

Turning to the open document on her laptop screen, she placed her ear buds in, music set to play softly.

It took a little bit to get into the swing of her writing, mind plagued by the things happening around her; soon enough, she found herself thrown into it without another thought being paid towards anything else, the character's feelings and emotions unfolding under her fingers quickly.

Hours ticked by quickly enough after that, the story unfolding easily as she focussed on nothing but her work for a while; taking five minutes every now and then to get herself something to drink or to eat before sitting back down again.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Putting down the phone after speaking with Mai, Oliver couldn't help but glare at nothing. Thinking over everything that she had told him, if the case they were interviewing for was the same one Mai was supposedly dreaming about, then things might be about to get dangerous, and he wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

Getting up from his desk, he made his way down the hall to his team’s room, pushing inside and ignoring their looks as he approached Lin.

The older man stopped typing when he noticed his charge, looking at him silently as he waited to hear what was so important that Oliver had made the trip to him.

“Do you know of any ways that a spirit would be able to invade someone else's dreamscape?” He asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

Lin frowned a little, running through what he knew on the subject. “There are a couple of ways that I can think of, but most of it is only theory. There isn't a precedent that's really been set. I can look into it further though. Is this about Mai?”

He didn't bother to reply to that, giving Lin his best 'don't be stupid' look, and rolling his eyes when it gained him clear disapproval. “She was thrown from the dream she was about to have last night. According to her, the spirit invaded her personal dreamscape and blocked her from seeing anything.”

Nodding in understanding, Lin sighed. “I'll do some research and make a couple of calls, but I don't know how much information I'm going to be able to find.”

“Just do what you can. I expect a report on the subject before you leave today so that I can relay what we have to Mai before she sleeps tonight.”

He didn't mention the way his stomach clenched at how distressed she'd sounded at the situation, or how worried he was that this same thing might happen again if she attempted to sleep tonight.

It was a testament to how well Lin knew him that the older man didn't say anything in response to that, only nodding in agreement before turning back to his computer.

Turning, he left the room without another word; heading back to his office. It was almost time for his interview, and he intended to get as much information as possible before they got to the house.

When he received notice that the prospective clients had finally arrived, Oliver got up from his seat and opened the door, welcoming the middle-aged couple into his office.

“Mr and Mrs Hansen. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.” His voice was flat but neither of them seemed concerned and only nodded.

“Of course. I'm Jacob, and this is my wife Isabella. I really hope that you'll be able to help us.”

Nodding, Oliver took his seat behind the desk again, motioning for them to sit down as well. “I will certainly do my best. For the sake of having the most information possible, I'm going to go through a series of routine questions.”

When they nodded in understanding, Oliver took out a sheet of paper and began to fill it in with their responses.

It mostly covered basic information such as names (Jacob and Isabella Hansen), ages (32 and 30), location (St. Albans, Hertfordshire*), family members currently living in their household (just the two of them), before coming to the blank area for current paranormal activity.

“You said in your initial request that you had been experiencing a feeling of being 'haunted'. Is there anything you can tell me about that?”

Jacob frowned a little. “I'm not sure how exactly to put it into words. It always feels like there's someone watching us, keeping an eye on our every move whenever we're inside the house.”

Oliver nodded. “And that same feeling is always more prevalent at midnight?”

The other man nodded. “Yes. The door will open just a little at midnight every night since we moved in, and sometimes I can make out a shadow with eyes, but it'll be gone a moment later.”

Noting down this extra information, he mentally connected this explanation to Mai's own inability to decide whether it was a ghost or some kind of shadow.

“Does the house you moved into have a history of these sort of occurrences.”

Isabella shook her head. “Not at all. I would have never bought it if that had been the case.” She denied. “My family is very superstitious, so that sort of thing is very important to me.”

Noting that down as well, Oliver also put a note next to it to check the house history.

“When did the activity start originally?”

Jacob thought for a moment. “Probably around a week or so after we moved things in the feeling of being watched started, and not long after that the sounds, and doors opening, began.”

Making that final note, Oliver nodded. “Thank you. For the duration of the case we would like to stay on sight to monitor everything as closely as possible. If possible, I would like two separate bedrooms for the male and female members of our team, and somewhere that we can set up as a base.” He requested.

Isabella nodded. “I will take care of that. You'll take the case then?” She checked.

Oliver fought the urge to roll his eyes at the question. “Of course. You can expect us tomorrow morning. Is there a particular time that would work best?”

“Around nine in the morning would be best. I can get you set up before I leave for work.” Isabella informed.

Putting the notes he'd made into the file and snapping it shut, Oliver pushed himself to stand, the couple following suit.

Holding out his hand, he shook both of theirs before offering his personal business card and waiting for Isabella to take it.

“In that case, Mrs Hansen, I will see you tomorrow morning at eight. If you have any problems before then, you can reach me personally on that number.”

They exchanged pleasantries again before the couple left, silence finally restored in his office.

Picking up the file, Oliver flipped it open to re-read everything, before moving to the printer in his office to photocopy the file.

Five minutes later all the notes were put together and he was heading back to Team room E.

Just like earlier, they all stopped their work to turn and look at him.

“I just finished interviewing Mr and Mrs Hansen for our most recent case. Here are the files. I expect that you've already started the preliminary research on the house, but now I want you to focus on anything negative that has happened historically. Deaths, disappearances. Anything you can find. I want information on the previous house owners as well, and whether there are similar reports from any of them.” Oliver listed off; placing the stack of files in front of Tiffany for her to hand out. “I expect a report on what you've found on my desk before the end of the day.”

For a moment he was certain they were going to make muttering complaints like usual, or at least argue against the report deadline, but instead none of them said a word.

Frowning, he considered something Mai said yesterday before shaking the thought from his head. Whatever nonsense she'd gotten up to really wasn't any of his concern.

Happy that they understood their assignments, he turned around and exited the room once more; making his way back to his office and re-taking his seat with a sigh.

Looking over the file yet again, he frowned at the details. The information from his team couldn't come soon enough.

Opening his laptop, he checked his emails to take care of some business before the desired reports arrived.

Time flew by after that, and before he knew it there was a knock at his door.

“Come in.”

It swung open only a moment later to reveal Lin holding two files in his hand.

“Here are the reports that you asked for.”

Taking them from Lin's hand, Oliver flicked them open and scanned over them quickly.

“Is this everything we have so far?” He asked finally; not surprised at the lack of information on Mai's situation, but no less annoyed by it.

Lin sighed. “Unfortunately. There just aren’t any real recordings of this happening in the past, and what we do have is mostly theoretical.”

Waving off the information, Oliver nodded. “Very well. You can go.”

Tempted to roll his eyes at Noll's lack of manners, Lin just nodded, before turning and exiting the room, leaving Oliver to look over the notes better.

Putting the preliminary case file aside, he focussed his attention on the information Lin had on dream walking and invasion of someone else's dreamscape.

As he read the information more closely, his frown only deepened. This wasn't looking good for them at all.

Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialled Mai's number, waiting as it rung out.

This was not something he looked forward to telling her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It felt like only moments since she'd sat down to write when there was a noise in the background of her music, breaking her concentration.

Spotting the time, she gasped in surprise, unsure of when it had become so late in the afternoon. Picking it up, she answered quickly, Japanese flowing from her mouth quickly.

“ _Moshi moshi.**”_

“You would think that in England you would respond in English if nothing else.”

Not at all surprised by the tease, Mai rolled her eyes. “It's not like anyone who knows me is going to be surprised when I open in Japanese. It's my native language you know.” She grumbled.

“I'm quite aware.”

Huffing, Mai slumped back in her chair. “How did the interview for the case go?” She asked, changing topic easily.

“We are expected to be at Mr and Mrs Hansen's at eight tomorrow morning. I expect you to be at BSPR at seven. Will you be able to get there on time or will I need to pick you up?”

“I'm sure I can manage that much.”

“Just checking.”

Her lips twitched at the familiar back and forwards, but she tensed when she realised that they were going to have to talk about her dream eventually.

_'Better get it over with.'_

“So, did you find out anything about the spirit that might explain... anything?”

There was a scoff, though whether it was at her choice of words or just from her lack of faith in his abilities, Mai wasn't certain.

“I spoke to Lin and he made some calls and did some research earlier today. According to his sources, it is possible for someone else to walk into another's dreamscape in theory, but only if they already have dream walking capabilities. And they weren't certain on the trade-off for someone who is alive and how much of their abilities pass over when they are a spirit.”

Mai quickly pulled up a free document on her computer, making a couple notes and frowning. That didn't bode well for their case.

“I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this, but how much power do you think it would take for a spirit to do this?”

“A lot.” Oliver admitted.

Mai shivered involuntarily, a bad feeling already creeping over her skin. “Great.” She muttered sarcastically.

“You don't have to come on the case.” Naru reminded her after a moment.

Sighing, the brunette smiled a little. “I know. But I've never let something like this stop me before, and I'm not about to start now. I'll be there.”

It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Naru, but neither of them commented on that.

“In that case, don't be late. And get some rest.”

She blinked in shock at her phone for a moment at the last part, before warmth blossomed in her chest.

Naru must have realised that she was worried that she'd dream again and be thrown from it once more. Part of her was terrified of that. It hadn't been a pleasant way to wake up, and it was definitely not something she wanted to experience once more. But just knowing that Naru cared for her made it all the easier to brave.

“And Mai?”

She hummed.

“Remember, when you are in your dreamscape it is _yours_. You control everything that happens there, not them. The spirit might have power, but none of it can manifest itself in your consciousness without your consent. Any power that it does seem like they have is nothing but a facade. _Do not forget_.” He stressed.

“Right. Thanks, Naru.” She murmured, before hanging up, mind still reeling from the new information.

Sitting there, she let her mind wander for a moment, work long forgotten as she contemplated everything.

It made sense in theory, but it was hard to connect theory with what she'd experienced last night (and harder still to remind herself that in that situation _she_ was the one with power).

However, as much as she wanted to stay up all night and forego giving the spirit the chance to find her again, exhaustion was already heavy on her mind.

It wasn't even five in the evening yet, but she already felt the urge to take a nap.

Slapping her hands over her cheeks briefly, the brunette forced that thought from her mind, trying to wake up. She couldn't sleep just yet or she'd never sleep through the night.

Standing up, she stretched and went to grab some more tea, before settling in to do some reading until she wanted to go and get dinner.

Despite her attempts, however, the time passed by slowly; Mai caught her mind trailing off multiple times and at six, she got up and headed down to get dinner.

It was a quick affair and not long after she was on her way up to her room, mind re-hashing things she already knew in attempt to make sense of them. There were still so many things missing though, so she tried to force her thoughts elsewhere; focusing instead on the plot line she'd spent the day writing.

Stepping into her room Mai made her way over to the desk, noting down the ideas she'd just had before sighing.

 _'I should probably get my bag ready for this case.'_ She noted, heading into the bedroom to throw together a small bag; deciding it was best to leave the rest of her unnecessary clothes and items behind.

It didn't take long, and by seven o'clock she had everything ready to go for the morning.

Debating over what to do for the next couple of hours before she headed to bed, she decided a bath was in order.

From there she spent the rest of the night relaxing before turning in for the night, concerns for the case still running through her mind.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Waking to her alarm the next morning, Mai groaned, exhaustion clouding her mind as she tried to figure out why the hell she was getting up at six in the morning; before she remembered everything that had happened the day before.

Forcing herself from her bed, she made her way into the kitchenette for some tea as she packed up the last of her things that she'd need for the trip and got changed for the day.

Not long later, she drained the last of her cup before washing it quickly and leaving it to dry. Grabbing her bag and heading out the door, she made sure it was locked before she left.

It didn't take her long to reach BSPR, and she was proud to note that she was even ten minutes earlier than she needed to be.

Stepping inside, the same secretary from last time was sitting there, and she turned to give Mai a stern look as the brunette signed herself in before she started down the hallway towards Naru's office.

Knocking lightly, she waited for him to ask her in for once, just in case she was interrupting something important, before she walked inside; grinning at the momentary surprise on Naru's face.

“Morning Naru.” She greeted.

“Mai. On time for once I see.”

Pouting, Mai sighed. “And here I was hoping for some sort of faith in my abilities.”

Naru scoffed. “I have plenty of faith in your abilities, something you are well aware of. The fact that your abilities don't seem to include being on time is the real problem.”

Throwing her hands up, Mai turned around to leave his office. “Well if that's how you're going to be then I'm going to go and see Madoka before we head out. At least she won't insult me this early in the morning.” She grumbled.

Rolling his eyes, Naru sighed. “Mai.”

Stopping before her hand even reached the handle, the brunette titled her head slightly, looking over at his serious face.

“Yes?”

He hesitated. “Did you dream last night?” Naru asked finally.

Blinking, Mai smiled slightly when she realised that the seriousness on Naru's face was because he was concerned.

Or at least, she thought he was.

“No, I didn't dream last night. I'm not quite sure, but I think the spirit has managed to cut me off from the dream entirely for the moment. If that's the case, then I'm interested to see how things turn out from an academic standpoint when I'm on the property instead. In theory, everything should be clearer, so I might be able to force the dreams to come, but I'm honestly not sure anymore. This is uncharted territory.” She admitted.

Naru nodded in agreement. “If that's the case, then we'll figure something out. I'd be interest in discussing those theories further at another point in time however.”

Grinning a little, Mai nodded. “I suppose that could be arranged.” She joked, mostly to see Naru narrow his eyes.

“Now that we've covered that, however, we should get a move on. Everyone should be down at the van ready to leave.”

Mai nodded, bags still in hand as she stepped out of the office, holding the door open for Naru as he followed.

Waiting as Naru locked up, she hummed a little to herself, most of her giddy at the realisation that this was happening.

Between the worrying over her dream situation and her momentary homesickness, she hadn't even considered just how happy she would feel going on a case with Naru for the first time in five years; or the nostalgia the emotions would bring.

It was almost like when she first started ghost hunting all over again, a complete rush of excitement and dread for whatever spirit awaited them.

True to Naru's word, when they reached the van, everyone was already there crowded around. There were six seats, three in the front and three in the back, and Mai wasn't at all surprised when Naru forced her to get in the front, placing her between himself and Lin.

Another burst of nostalgia rang through her mind. She truly had missed this.

It was silent for a moment as they got on the road, the three other team members pre-occupied reading over their case files again and making notes on things that they thought were of importance.

Before thirty minutes were up however, Mai couldn't help but feel a little suffocated by the silence, her phone no longer enough to distract her; so she turned to look over Naru's file, blinking in surprise when he lowered the other side so that she could read better.

She frowned a little at the notes written down on the case from the interview, that same feeling she'd been experiencing the past few days re-appearing. Almost like dread for what was to come, which never bode well for them.

Noticing Mai's expression, Naru sent her a raised eyebrow, prompting her to explain.

Biting her lip, the brunette consciously made the switch to Japanese, not wanting the other people in the van to hear.

“ _Something about this case is making alarm bells go off for me. I have a bad feeling, is all.”_ She admitted.

Naru's brows furrowed in concentration as he considered this.

“ _Do you have any idea on what the specifics might be for that?”_

Shaking her head, Mai looked down at her lap, disappointed in her continuous lack of knowledge. You'd think that after this many years she would be able to read her own situation better.

When she stated as much however, Naru just shook his head.

“ _Psychic abilities aren't linear. They come and they go, and they are often vague. You_ know _this.”_ He reminded, voice firm.

Swallowing, Mai nodded. _“I know that, I just- I don't want anything bad to happen, and every time I've had a feeling like this on a case, something has.”_

“ _How often did you have these feelings when we were in Japan?”_ Lin asked, before Naru could form the question himself, both of them eyeing Mai curiously.

Shrugging, the brunette ran through a mental list of how often it had occurred, chewing at her lip lightly. _“Usually at least once per case, but not always before the case began. I think the only time I remember feeling like this from moment one, was Urado.”_ She admitted quietly.

Suddenly her worries made more sense to Naru, everything clicking into place. Between the dream from last week, the almost-dream, and then the idea that this case might turn out to be as bad as Urado, it was no wonder that she was on edge and angry at her lack of information.

“ _You never mentioned feeling like this on most of the cases.”_ Lin mentioned, eyes watching the road carefully.

Mai shrugged again. _“It didn't seem overly important usually. They were just feelings I got sometimes.”_ She muttered.

Scoffing, Naru shook his head. _“I thought we covered this early on, but clearly it needs repeating. I value your feelings as if they are fact. If you feel like this, it is probably best that we heed the warnings they imply. Do you understand?”_

Nodding, Mai smiled slightly. _“Okay Naru.”_ She agreed; forcing herself to focus on the case file in front of her for just under another hour, making notes in her own notebook, more to help her remember things than out of necessity.

After that, however, her mind began to wonder back to what they had been discussing before.

She wasn't sure if it would be that easy to trust her instincts like Naru seemed to think she should. His faith in them was almost unwavering, by the way he had spoken, and that didn't sit quite right with her. Her instincts weren't like her dreams. Her dreams made sense; she watched them play out in her mind and ever since she discovered exactly what they were she'd never really had a reason to doubt them. Every movement always felt so real, and the case information had always backed them up, so it just made sense.

This wasn't the case for her 'feelings'. They had no real basis outside of being right on most occasions; so while she trusted them in a situation of danger when adrenaline was high and her instincts were all that kept her going, it was harder to justify in moments like this where she had time to turn over them from a more logical standpoint.

In fact, she was shocked that this same thing hadn't occurred to Naru at any point. Or maybe he had, and just didn't care?

She didn't really have the time to consider that, however, because Lin was already pulling onto the curb and parking the van, ready for them to begin.

Suddenly, that same feeling of dread was back, and this time she didn't need Naru to remind her to trust her instincts. There was no way she could ignore how strong it felt this time.

As she glanced over at Naru and their eyes met, she knew instantly that he had understood.

Now, all Mai could do was pray that nobody actually got hurt.

Or that if someone did, it would be her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Despite Mai's foreboding feeling, however, nothing happened throughout the set up (Mrs Hansen staying around only long enough to get them settled before she'd gone to work, her husband long since gone as well), and they worked with minimal talking as the monitors were finally plugged in, everything in place.

“Tiffany, Thomas, I want you two to go and set up the cameras and microphones. Do not split up.” Oliver ordered, opting to value caution, especially since the house wasn't so big that it would take too long. “Mai, do you mind going with Roy to take temperatures?”

If Mai was shocked over being asked, as opposed to ordered, nothing showed on her face.

Instead she grinned. “Sure thing, Naru.” She chirped.

It took effort not to let his mouth twitch into a small smile at seeing the brunette so much happier now than she had been an hour earlier. Whatever terrible feeling she had initially seemed to have faded for the moment, thankfully.

But Oliver was in no way stupid, so he refused to let his guard down. Whatever was going on in this house had the potential to be bad, and that was something he was determined to stop before it got too far.

As the two teams left the room to go and fulfil their tasks, Oliver turned back to his own task.

He'd looked over the information briefly yesterday before he'd gotten distracted by Mai's (significantly more intriguing) situation, but the history of the house was where he was going to find the most information to solve this case; so he pushed any other thoughts aside and focussed on that instead.

The history of this house was extensive, and in that time, there had only been a few deaths. Because the records were old though, he also wasn't completely sure how trustworthy they were. The older reports also weren't all that extensive, leaving much desired in the way of information that could have helped him to understand everything better.

Regardless, Oliver powered on through them, mentally noting the dates of disappearances and deaths, as well as the names connected to them, and adding them to the current page he had in his notebook for this case.

_Arthur Wright, 38, found dead after he jumped from the second-floor balcony, snapping his neck. Reports from his doctor state that even before this he had shown signs of 'mental instability'. Suicide._

_Benjamin Ellis, 46, found in pieces, hidden below the floorboards. He lived alone and it was days before anyone checked on him. By then he was long dead. Marked as a Cold Case._

_Hamish Newman, 39, found buried under his bed which had been flipped onto him, his chest having been crushed by the heavy wood and metal, although autopsy revealed that the real cause of death was a heart attack. His wife was working late and didn't make it home until around three in the morning. She was too late to save him. Marked as a Cold Case._

Rubbing his temples, Oliver had to wonder if Mrs Hansen had actually checked all that hard for the history of this house, because he doubted that her superstitious nature (if she honestly had one, he had his doubts) would have allowed for the purchase of a house with this kind of owner history.

Although, he supposed it is just as likely that the nature of the owner history had been covered up for the sake of getting a sale. It wasn't uncommon after all.

Pushing those thoughts away as well, Oliver focussed on the other facts that he had at current.

Whoever this spirit was, they were powerful and most likely had dream walking capabilities during their in life. This was only marginally helpful, because a spirit that was this powerful likely had a long history, meaning that they'd died many years before exact records were being kept, possibly even before being psychic became acceptable, or even marginally believable.

They were just as likely to not be in the records he currently held, as they were to be there. The records could be tracked back until the early 1900's, but anything before that was long lost. Near as he could tell, however, this house had been standing for longer than that (although renovations had clearly been made within that time).

Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, he found himself interested in where this case was going to go, and he couldn't quite bring himself to feel bad for it (something Madoka would scold him for immensely if she knew). While the cases he'd taken in Japan had been entirely up to him, and he'd taken them based on their necessity and how they'd interested him, those same luxuries could not be applied to him here, so it was good that he had something more in depth to investigate this time around.

It would also be a true test of his team's ability, he noted, since this was by far the most complex case they'd covered in a while.

His lips twitched into a smirk at the thought.

Yes, he much preferred things to be interesting. Even if that meant he would be in danger.

He frowned, however, when he realised that this meant Mai would also be in danger. That was less exciting.

Sighing, Oliver eyed the cover of his notebook, tempted to hit it against his head in a misguided attempt to make those thoughts go away.

It was a ridiculous notion that he had questioned the logic of in the past, and he was not impressed to find himself just as vulnerable to that feeling. Clearly having Mai around was a mistake if it was going to make him start thinking like this.

And yet, he also couldn't bring himself to regret her presence. He didn't even bother trying to convince himself that his lack of regret was only due to how she could help them solve this case, something he was sure his mother and brother would be proud of had they known.

He scoffed at his own off-track thought process.

 _'Enough',_ he scolded himself, _'the time for personal issues is not now, Oliver. Pay attention.'_

With that in mind, he refocussed on the stacks of information he had left to go through.

This time, he didn't lose concentration.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Mai sighed a little as she trudged into the third room of the house (the dining room), (the living room, which was their current base, as well as the kitchen had already been completed) thermometer in hand. She'd forgotten how _boring_ some of the requirements for cases tended to be.

Stepping into the first corner, she sighed again as she waited for the temperature to level out before noting it down and moving to the next corner.

Roy watched her closely, eyes narrowed in something akin to distrust, and Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes at the cold attitude. He couldn't hold a candle to the way Naru had originally acted towards her, so he didn't bother her at all.

Moving to the third corner after it beeped, Roy finally seemed to get that glaring at her wasn't going to change his situation, and instead he broke the silence.

“Dr. Davis sure seems to trust you an awful lot. Are you sure you aren't something more than just 'someone who used to work for him'?”

The connotations behind that made a flare of irritation rise before she forced it down, reminding herself that she needed to work with these people, not argue with them.

Besides, he wasn't too far off the mark of what could have been.

“I mean, obviously you would've gotten to get to know him over the time you worked for him, but he's never mentioned you before now, so I can only imagine that you haven't spoken to him in years. And yet he didn't doubt you for a moment. I've seen him take longer to accept something Miss Mori says, and yet, here we are.” He continued; eyes still narrowed as they tracked Mai moving to the fourth corner of the room to take the final temperature.

“Not that I believe that it's any of your business, Mr Jones, but there is nothing between Naru and I other than friendship.” And as much as it was a relief to say those words, she couldn't quite stop her chest from aching for what she wished had been. “As for your lack of information on me, well, I was unaware that Naru made it a habit to discuss his personal life with his co-workers.”

She smirked slightly at Roy's dumbstruck look at her, before he gathered himself.

“While that is true, I still don't understand why he would value your opinion so highly. A year and a half of ghost hunting with Dr. Davis isn't nearly the equivalent of a three-year parapsychology degree, and then the additional time in the field that _we_ all have.”

The ‘we’ he was referring to was clearly the rest of Naru's team, and Mai had to stop herself from laughing when she realised exactly what this situation was.

He was jealous. Where the others had taken her criticism to heart, this man seemed to be doing the opposite and lashing out at her because he didn't want to be told what to do by someone without formal education.

Which brought up her next question. “Oh? And you know all about my lack of degree _how exactly_?”

For the first time since this conversation began, Roy seemed suitably cowed, a little bit of guilt making its way onto his features before it was hidden well.

Or at least, well enough for someone who didn't spend most of their time analysing the micro-expressions of an idiot scientist.

“I thought it was only prudent to do a quick background check of someone who was going to be working with us that we'd never met in the past.” It was a flimsy excuse, and he seemed to know it.

“Funny thing about meeting someone for the first time, Mr Jones. You always have the option to just _ask_. Or is that concept too much for you to wrap your mind around?”

As the words left her mouth, she didn't bother waiting around for a response, she turned and left the room to go across the hall to the laundry room, downstairs toilet, and garage.

It was a moment later before footsteps followed her.

“I don't appreciate being insulted like that.” Roy informed her; anger visible on his face.

Mai shrugged a little. “Then maybe you shouldn't imply that the trust I worked hard to gain from Naru was a result of anything other than my hard work and dedication to learning a profession I had no background in while I was still in high school.” She shot back. “You seem to have convinced yourself that without a certificate saying, 'I learnt this', someone can't have any knowledge of real value. But answer me this. Knowing Naru as long as you have, do you honestly doubt that a year and a half working under him in the field is worth less than a three-year course in parapsychology?”

She didn't mention her own job background, feeling as though she'd won this argument without it, instead turning back to the task at hand.

Roy didn't speak again until they entered the first bedroom on the second floor.

“I'm sorry.”

For a moment Mai wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. But one look at Roy told her that she wasn't hearing things.

Humming, she waited for him to say more.

“I shouldn't have insulted you like that. I had no reason to, and I understand if you want to bring it up with Dr. Davis. That was hardly professional.”

Mai fought against the urge to laugh at his suddenly demure tone and decided that it would be best _not_ to remind him that Lin could hear their entire conversation from where he was in base.

Instead she smiled a little, trying to be comforting. “Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes, and I try not to hold grudges.”

Roy seemed to brighten up a little bit at that. “So, you aren't going to bring it up with Dr. Davis then?”

This time Mai couldn't help the slight giggle at his relief. “Of course not. It's hardly any of his business to deal with the disagreements I have with other people. We'll just keep this between you and me.”

“Thank you.”

Shaking her head, the brunette grinned. “You can thank me by actually helping.”

Roy flushed when he realised that he'd been letting Mai do all the work up until now, seeming to only just realise that he'd been carrying a thermometer this entire time but not using it.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, finally settling to help take the temperature in the second last corner of this room as Mai waved him off.

“I'm telling you, don't-” Her words were cut off when a startled noise was dragged from her throat.

Chocolate orbs seemed to meet cold, blue, hawk-like ones; lifeless, just like the first dream she'd had in England almost a week ago.

Her fingers dangled loosely, the thermometer falling from her grasp, clattering uselessly against the floor as Mai found herself frozen in place, unable to force her eyes away from the image in front of her.

“Mai? Mai?!”

Finally, her body seemed to move, shivers beginning to wrack her body as the image seemed to vanish.

If she'd had any doubts about whether or not her dream from earlier in this trip was connected, she didn't need to wonder any more.

But the real question in this instance was, what the hell was that?

And what did it mean?

Mai found that for once, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*According to a quick google search, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, is roughly an hour and a half by car and seemed dominated by older buildings that suited my purposes. Apologies if this is not true, feel free to correct me!

**It seems like this would be a hard habit to break so I thought I would include it in Mai's case. In Japan, you don't answer the phone with 'hello' or anything like that. You use, _moshi moshi_ , which is like 'hello' but specific to phone conversations only. This is also why I've used the actual Japanese term here, and didn't translate it to _“hello”_ in italics which would have implied the same. If that makes sense?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to shout ideas and prompts at me over at shellsan.tumblr.com!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I get into my rambling, I'm going to apologise for the late update. I'm currently back home for the next couple of weeks and we were playing cards until late, so by the time we finished up and I tried to finish editing this to post (since I haven't had time yet) it was just not going to go well. Another IMPORTANT THING however. I've been struggling to write for Nefelibata over the past week, so I'm going to be postponing the next chapter until the 20th of July. I've been burnt out from so much writing, and I'm trying a few things to get it back for this story, but I spoke to a couple of people and then decided to give myself time. I will probably work behind the scenes on Nefelibata, maybe get ahead on the update chapters so that this sort of thing doesn't happen. Thank you all for (hopefully) understanding, and now on to our weekly rambles by your author.
> 
> In this chapter we start to allude to things that happened earlier in the story. But don't fret, I will refresh some of those details for you given the length of time since they took place~ You also get to enjoy a monologue of Naru's thought process for a while, and watch as he has some important revelations, then a less concise version of Mai doing the same~ Also please enjoy a brief exploration of motherly Mai reappearing to scold everyone for their eating habits once more, feat science!
> 
> IMPORTANT! If any of you have problems with more explicit explanations of gore, you are going to want to skip Mai's dream below. It isn't the goriest thing in the world, but it's much more full-on than anything else I've written thus far for this story, and I wanted to let any of you know in case this is going to be an issue. The dream is explained briefly afterwards when discussed with Naru, so you won't miss anything if you decide to skip it.

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

_Dreamscape_

**Chapter Eight**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

After her scare earlier, Mai had insisted on finishing up the temperature readings; despite Naru letting her know that she could return to base over the walkie talky.

She had a job to do, and some ghost wasn't about to scare her away from it.

And if her fingers continued to shake as they went through the final three rooms, and then the upstairs bathroom, well, Roy at least had the tact not to comment.

It was silent between them as they finished up, getting to the stairs and beginning their way down.

Mai couldn't help but hold onto the handrail somewhat tighter than usual, aware that the likelihood of the spirit doing anything again so soon (if it even had been the spirit?) was very small, but no more comforted by this knowledge.

Letting out a sigh as they got to the bottom of the stairs, Mai took a deep breath, calming her still racing heart, before smiling at Roy and continuing back to base.

Stepping inside, she noted straight away that Thomas and Tiffany were already back in base and looking over what appeared to be some of the background information on the house.

“Mai.”

Turning to look at an unimpressed Naru, the brunette grinned sheepishly. “Hey, Naru.”

At his raised eyebrow, and even more disappointed look (how the hell was he doing that?), Mai deflated a little. “It's not like I asked for this to happen.” She muttered, moving to go and sit on the couch.

Rolling his eyes, Naru came to stand nearby, still eyeing her off.

“How long was that? Ten minutes? It's got to be a new record.”

Mai pouted a little at that. “Barely. In Urado's mansion I smelt the blood before we'd even set up base.” She admitted softly.

“Why is it, that I keep finding out more and more about that case _afterwards_ than you ever mentioned during it?” Naru asked.

Huffing, Mai narrowed her eyes at him. “If we're going to start taking tolls over who didn't tell who more, then we'll be here for a while.”

There was a twitch of his lips at that, and Naru didn't bother to argue further.

“So, what exactly happened?”

Biting her lip, Mai thought over the image, realising that she'd never told Naru about her first dream, but now that she's certain that they're connected to this case, she was going to have to.

“Do you remember when I had a dream back while the parapsychology convention was still happening?”

At Naru's nod, Mai sighed.

“It was for this case. I saw the same man who died in my dream lying dead in the second bedroom upstairs.” She revealed.

As he took a seat, Mai noted that Naru seemed to be in what she'd always called 'interviewer' mode, and she found she didn't at all like being on the other end of it.

“I need you to tell me everything you know then.”

There was a small amount of hesitation, and Mai smiled a little at his softer tone (at least, in comparison to his usual tone), appreciating his attempt to be empathetic.

“I was third-person, watching as an elderly man was being watched from the darkness at midnight. The door opened to his room, and there was someone on the other side watching, although I know nothing about them. I think it might have been the shadow thing from my second dream. They watched for a while, waiting for the elderly man to fall back to sleep out of exhaustion, and then attacked him.”

Her voice choked a little, and she smiled when Naru held out a glass of water from the jug on the coffee table, for her.

“Thank you.”

“Whenever you're ready.”

Swallowing the water, those pale blue eyes still haunting her mind, she took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly, placing the glass back on the table before she continued.

“At half-past one, the shadow attacked him, knocked him to the floor and then tipped the bed onto him. I watched as his eyes slowly glassed over and he died, reasonably slowly. I could hear his heartbeat fade, Naru.” She whispered.

“That's enough.” Naru stopped her.

Mai shook her head. “I think he died in that same room, Naru.”

Getting up, Naru grabbed the glass from the table, placing it in her hands. “Small sips. Don't get too caught up in the past, Mai. Focus on the now. He's already dead, you can't help him.”

A shuddering breath caught in her throat, but Mai focussed on doing exactly that, bringing the cold water to her lips and letting the slow slide of it down her throat ground her.

She wasn't sure how long it took before those eyes stopped being at the forefront of her mind, it could have been five minutes, it could have been fifteen.

What she did know was that for every single moment that she tried to fight off the memory, Naru stayed beside her, silent (and a little awkward), but a steady presence that also helped to keep her grounded.

Finally, she breathed deeply once more, turning to Naru to smile brightly, only lacking a small amount of her usual cheer. “Thanks, Naru.”

He grunted in reply, finally moving away from his place to go and continue working.

Just like that, the spell was broken between them, and Mai remembered that there were other people in the room.

Glancing over at the rest of Naru's team, she ignored the slight smirk on Lin's face in favour of rolling her eyes at the confusion and wonder in the eyes of the others.

“I hope you guys got those notes down for yourselves, or paid enough attention at least, since I'm not going over _that_ dream again.” Mai announced; amusement bubbling when Tiffany and Thomas scrambled to write down their own notes.

Feeling stable enough to get up now, the brunette pushed herself from the couch, wandering over to where Naru was reading over something in his notebook.

Peaking over his shoulder, she pouted when he snapped it shut.

“Stingy.” She complained.

“I was going to offer you a case file to read over, but no, you're right. I'm definitely being stingy.” He retorted, scoffing.

“Aww, don't be like that Naru.”

At the glare, Mai giggled. “Alright, where's this case file.”

Naru seemed to debate for a moment, before pointing to a file next to Lin. “In there are the more important notes I have on this house so far. There was a death that matched your description of how the older man died in your dream.” He revealed.

Intrigued, Mai walked over to the desk and picked it up, scanning over it, her eyes widening.

Swallowing thickly, she snapped it shut, feeling a little satisfied at the slight noise it made. “It wasn't the same man from my dream though. The age is all wrong.” Mai admitted. “Which means that the death either wasn't reported or it was reported, and the records have been lost to time.”

“There's another possibility.” Thomas raised from across the room, looking a little nervous, but confident enough in his information.

“Go on.” Mai encouraged, smiling.

“If the body didn't stay like that, then the cause of death might be recorded differently. You don't know for sure that nothing else happened after the end of the dream.” He explained, making Naru's 'thinking' face appear.

“Well done.” He praised finally, looking disgruntled at the words, which made Mai giggle.

He shot her a look before continuing. “It's definitely worth considering until we have more information. It's too early to be making assumptions.”

All of them nodded in agreement, and Mai made a mental note of the options to consider them further later – and as a potential writing device.

After that, the room fell into silence, everybody working away on their respective areas of research while Mai sat on the couch and read over some of the information; making notes of her own for both this case, and for future material for writing.

Time seemed to tick by, and soon enough she begun to feel a little drowsy, the familiar noise of fingers clicking against a keyboard lulling her into a state of relaxation.

She didn't notice the fond exasperation on Naru's face as she fell into her dreamscape.

_Waking up again in her dreamscape was nerve wracking, Mai had to admit. Considering her last adventure here, no-one could really blame her either._

_Glancing around, her heart beating a little quickly, she couldn't help but feel relieved when she didn't see any sign of the shadow that had been in her previous dream, blocking her from seeing anything._

_Turning around, she waited for a moment, concerned when nothing began to change, before slowly the scene faded, and the image of the same room from last time appeared._

_But this time, she noted, the she was looking at the elderly man's eyes from in front of the body, looking down over it._

'First-person dream.' _She noted to herself, a little apprehensive, especially as she heard the monologue of whoever's mind she was in._

“ _Finally, finally.” The voice spoke. “His time has come.”_

_It was an odd sensation, hearing your voice, but not meaning to say anything. Even odder, was having zero control over her own actions, a slave to the body she was in as it crouched before the elderly man, a grin in place as they listened to the man's heartbeat slowly fade away, until there was nothing._

_The grin only widened at this. “Silence.”_

_The word was spoke with such reverence, almost like a prayer of thankfulness, and it made Mai's stomach turn._

_Standing up once more, the body moved over to the bed, pulling it off the man, before they returned to stand above him, gleeful at the sight of the cold-dead body before them._

_Looking towards the window, the smile faded into a frown, and the body sighed, before setting to work._

_'Stop it!' She couldn't help but think in terrified awe, as multiple tools were revealed from a bag hidden behind the door and the body she was in moved carefully, methodically, to dismember the pieces of the elderly man, one by one._

_The blood was warm on her fingers, and made Mai's skin crawl, even though the body she was in had no such problems, and her throat gagged at the strong scent of copper and rust in the air; so much like Urado's mansion, and yet somehow, so much stronger._

_It took time, the clock ticking by, moment by moment, as the parts were cut and then placed carefully beneath some of the floorboards. The head, and then each arm, and then the torso, and finally each leg; hidden from view in such a way that it was possible that he was never even found._

_As the body stood from the ground, the sun beginning to rise slowly, they moved to the bathroom and washed away any traced of remaining blood, the windows open to air out any remaining scent of copper._

_There was the sound of a knock at the door, and the body she was in froze for a moment._

_Whatever happened next, however, she would never learn, as the dream began to fade from her mind, the sound of Naru calling her dragging her away from this nightmare finally._

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was around fifteen or so minutes into Mai falling asleep when Oliver first noticed the change, shivers beginning to wrack her body as she whispered small words.

Frowning, he debated for a moment before shrugging off his jacket and laying it over her, smirking slightly when she curled into it, shivered abiding for the moment.

He was content to go back to his work, turning away, when he heard it.

“Stop it!”

It wasn't quite a shout, but the tone was there all the same.

A dream?

Honestly, Oliver hadn't even considered that she might dream again so soon, especially since the last time she'd tried, Mai had been completely blocked. Given that they hadn't figured out a proper solution to that issue just yet, he had resigned himself to figuring this out without the dreams.

He'd been doing it for years now, it wasn't going to make a lot of difference.

He decided to wait it out, keeping an eye on her as the minutes ticked by, the small mutters the only sound in the room.

He began to get concerned, however, when the clock reached the hour mark since he'd realised that Mai had started dreaming.

“Shouldn't we wake her, Dr. Davis?” Tiffany asked finally, glancing over at Mai with a slight frown. Whether she was doing so because she thought Mai should be working right now and didn't realise that she was, or because she was concerned by the tossing and turning Mai’s body was beginning to do, Oliver wasn't sure.

“Leave her be for a little longer. If she doesn't wake within the next half an hour then I'll do it myself.”

Unfortunately, half an hour later she was still dead to the world and showing no signs of waking.

“Oliver.” Lin warned.

Nodding, he made his way over to Mai, crouching down next to her before he placed a hand on her arm, shocked at how cold and clammy she felt to the touch.

“Mai.”

Shaking her gently, he proceeded to call her name a couple more times, frowning when she didn't respond.

“ _Taniyama Mai, if you don't wake up, I'm docking your pay check.”_ He warned; the words so familiar, reminding him of the days when that was a threat that actually worked.

For a moment, he thought he'd have to make the threat once more, before he felt her twist, groaning.

“ _I don't work for you anymore, you jerk.”_ Mai grumbled finally, her eyes fluttering open to meet his; chocolate orbs looking considerably more pained then he'd last noticed.

As her mind seemed to fully sync with her body once more, her face seemed to pale, and her eyes squeezed shut. “I'm going to throw up.” She warned, before sitting up quickly and racing out of the room.

Sighing, Oliver got up from the ground and followed her in the direction of the downstairs toilet; not at all surprised to find her in there, retching up whatever was in her stomach.

It was almost ten minutes later before she was finished, washing her mouth out with water in the sink and looking completely miserable as more shivers continued to assault her body.

“I need to brush my teeth.” She muttered.

“I'll walk you up. It's too dangerous to be going around on your own.”

It was a testament to how exhausted she was feeling that Mai didn't even bother to argue, nodding instead before they began their trek upstairs to the room that she was sharing with Tiffany.

Walking over to her bed where she'd placed her smaller bag that morning, the brunette quickly located her toiletries kit, before they walked down to the bathroom. Oliver standing there silently as he waited for Mai to brush her teeth.

“Do you think you'll be able to keep a cup of tea down?” He asked finally, breaking the silence as Mai finished rinsing her mouth out.

Smiling weakly at him, she nodded. “I can try.”

Her voice was a rough from throwing up, and Oliver frowned. This definitely called for tea with lemon and honey, he decided.

It wasn't something he made often, preferring Earl Grey himself. But the honey would help with her sore throat and the lemon would cut the sweetness.

They stepped back into her room on the way past, allowing Mai to put her toiletries bag away, before they continued downstairs, silence between the once more.

Oliver was tempted to ask her about what had happened in the dream before she began to lose the details, the logical part of him waging war against the part of him that was sympathetic to whatever Mai had experienced.

And for once, the sympathetic side of him was winning.

Stepping into the kitchen, Mai immediately set about turning the electric kettle on and looking for some tea bags and mugs, as well as sugar.

Walking over to the pantry, Oliver scanned the shelves for honey, before grabbing it and putting it down on the bench next to the collection.

“Thank you.” Mai whispered.

Oliver didn't bother to respond, walking over to the fridge to see if they kept lemon juice, not shocked to see that they didn't have any on hand.

Looking around to see if they perhaps kept any lemons he could squeeze, he gave up pretty quickly, frowning.

“Thank you for not asking yet.” Mai muttered finally, pouring the now boiling water into the cups with the tea bags and sugar to Naru's, adding the honey to her own.

“I will have to eventually.” Oliver admitted.

She smiled at him weakly. “I know. And this will definitely help you with the case. But I just- I need a moment. Please. Just a little longer.” She promised.

Oliver nodded.

Mai removed the tea bags, draining them against the side of the cup and threw them out, before offering Oliver his.

Taking it carefully, he frowned when he noticed how cold her fingers still were.

Watching, he waited as she picked up her own cup, taking a small sip and wincing, making him roll his eyes.

“You knew how hot that was.” He couldn't help but point out, enjoying the moment where Mai seemed to forget everything in favour of frowning at him, eyebrow twitching.

“I just wanted a drink.” She sulked, making him chuckle.

“Just wait a little longer.” He cautioned.

Just as soon as the light mood had hit, however, it drained from the air, silence falling between them once more.

“Do you think the others might want tea as well?” Mai asked finally.

For a moment Oliver wasn't sure what to say, and if it weren't for how relaxed she'd appeared when pouring the tea and going through the familiar motions, he would be much more concerned.

“They can make their own tea.”

Mai giggled a little, the sound still a little strained. “I suppose so.” She agreed, and made no move to make any more, so Oliver figured she'd seen reason once more.

It was amazing. Even after what might have been the worst dream he'd ever seen her experience, despite how oddly quiet she'd been on the couch (at least compared to the screaming of Urado), she was still concerned about whether or not she should do something for someone else.

“Maybe just Lin?” She muttered finally.

Clearly, he'd thought too soon.

“Lin is perfectly capable of making his own tea if he wants it.” He reminded patiently.

Mai pouted, but didn't argue.

Taking a sip of tea, Oliver noted that it had already cooled considerably. Recalling the temperature sheet that Mai had taken earlier, he frowned. It seemed an odd space to have a cool spot.

Glancing around, the frown only deepened when he noted that there was only a small window, so that was unlikely to be the cause of such a big difference.

“Let's head back to base for now.” Oliver suggested, not willing to take any more chances. This was already more activity than he'd expected so early on in the day.

“Okay.” Mai agreed softly, wrapping her fingers around the mug tightly as they began the walk back.

Thankfully, nothing happened in the few moments it took, and soon enough Mai was seated on the couch once more, hands still holding the mug.

Frowning, she leant over and picked up his jacket from the ground, glancing over at him with a questioning look.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed it back, shrugging it on without a word of explanation.

Mai didn't need to know that he'd placed it over her as a replacement blanket. She already thought that he was soft enough.

Neither of them spotted the eye roll Lin gave them from over at the monitors, ever suffering.

“Are you ready to talk about it now?” Oliver asked finally, no longer able to wait as the minutes ticked by.

Mai took a deep breath before nodding slightly. “Okay.”

He waited as the brunette gathered her thoughts, considering how to put everything.

“I was in the same room from last time, but this time I was in the body of the shadow thing. I watched as the elderly man died again.” She recited, swallowing thickly. “He was killed by a bed falling on him, but Thomas was right. After that, the shadow thing severed the pieces of the body and then hid them under the floorboards.”

Her eyes were haunted as she spoke, remembering that sight once more, a shiver running over her body.

“Are there any other details that you can recall?” Oliver asked, pained by his need to know more.

Mai shook her head. “I don't think so. There was a knock at the door, but that was the last thing that I remember from the dream before you pulled me from it.”

Oliver nodded, “Okay.”

Quickly, he jotted down the new notes, relieved that Mai didn't seem to be stuck in the past like earlier today.

It had likely been a horrific thing to watch (and feel). It was hard, even for him, to imagine going through a dream that lasted even longer for her, as the parts of the body were broken down, and actually feeling it happen.

For the first time in a long time, he was reminded of the way he had felt, experiencing his brother's death in first-person, and considered how hard it must be for Mai who cares for all people on a similar level.

It was heartbreaking, and yet she was so strong. She didn't shy away from her abilities anymore, unlike how she had been in the past when he'd known her. It was jarring to see the change, and to see how more mature she had gotten over the years.

There was a certain sadness there as well; because Mai had been such a light to him in one of the darkest times of his life, when he was struggling (even though his pride had – and usually continued to – prevent him from admitting it) and completely unsure of how to view the world any more.

Every moment when he teased her, when he spoke with her and riled her up, or even when he taught her more and more about ghost hunting, the one thing he truly enjoyed most in the world – they were the moments that had likely prevented him from losing it in his brother's absence.

Her strong presence, so much like Gene's and yet, so different.

And still, somehow, he'd managed to leave such a bright light behind in Japan with minimal warning, and almost no context; abandoning her without a second thought.

Sitting across from her now, Oliver couldn't fathom the thought. The complete lack of contact, for no reason outside of his stubborn pride, and the way he'd denied himself of her under the guise of protecting her from more pain caused by him.

(The image of Mai crying in front of him, over his cruel words by that lakeside so clear, never fading with time, always causing him guilt, guilt, guilt.)

But luckily, he had been given a second chance. Years later, Mai was in his life once more, and time seemed to have healed any anger Mai may have still harboured towards him.

And that was something he refused to throw away again. This was a chance offered to him (though it was surely not a gift from any God or fate, since neither concept had any scientific backing), and the time he had was not much, but it was a chance.

The emotions he felt towards Mai should not go any further; she lived too far away and even with his lack of knowledge of relationships, he knew the statistics on long-distance relationships. And yet, he _wanted_.

It was a foreign concept to him, realising that for the first time in a long time, he wasn't passive in his desire. He _wanted_ to be with Mai, and to get to know her even better. He wanted to understand the changes in her life and be there in moments like these when she was hurting and needed someone to turn to, even if he felt awkward doing so.

“Are you okay, Naru? You seem to be thinking rather hard.” Mai teased, snapping him from his thoughts.

Perhaps it was a good thing Gene was dead after all. His brother would have had an absolute ball listening to his embarrassing thoughts from moments before, and he would have never heard the end of it.

“Yes, Mai. I find that thinking is something that will inevitably help us solve this case. You should try it sometime.”

On cue, her eyes narrowed, and she huffed, arms crossing over her chest.

Even years later, Oliver was comforted to know that some things hadn't changed, and probably never would.

(And perhaps a part of him hoped that maybe her feelings towards him hadn't changed either, no matter how ridiculous he found the notion to be.)

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Mai sighed when she woke the next morning, turning over to glance at Tiffany, and finding the girl to still be very asleep. Rolling onto her other side, facing away from the other girl, the brunette grabbed her phone; pressing the home button and cringing a little when she noticed that it was only six in the morning.

Usually she'd go back to sleep, but after the excitement from yesterday she'd gone to bed early, and now there was no way she was going to fall asleep any time soon.

Unfortunately, however, she wasn't going to be able to just head down to base either, since they had to stay in pairs; which meant she had to wait until Tiffany woke up.

Groaning quietly, Mai resigned herself to spending the next hour scrolling on her phone, reading over some interesting articles from _Parapsychology Today*_ that caught her eye.

Despite her best attempts though, slowly her mind began to wander, recalling how hard Naru had been thinking the previous day.

It had been enough to break her from the memories of her latest dream, causing her to focus on him instead.

That definitely hadn't changed over the years.

Naru was the kind of person who commanded her attention constantly without having to do anything. There was something about him (perhaps the mystery?) that just made it impossible for her to go too long without looking at him.

And wasn't that the most frustrating thing, because in the end, she knew that those same feelings of attraction also coincided with her emotions.

It had been days since the ball, and yet if Mai thought hard enough, she could still remember how it had felt having Naru's hands on her wrist, holding her gently, and worrying over her.

Rubbing absently at the bruises that had formed, and were only now beginning to fade, she sighed.

There were so many mixed signals being thrown her way and she didn't know how to deal.

For the second time, she missed how much simpler things had been when she'd stayed in her home in Japan, writing her stories, and only leaving to meet up with her friends-turned-family.

Love and relationships had been so far from her mind that she'd had Ayako worrying that she'd never even try to find someone to spend her life with.

(That she'd responded by citing Ayako and Bou-san's relationship and how she “would never wish something like _that_ insanity upon anyone, least of all herself – she wasn't some masochist” was beside the point. And so was the resulting argument.)

It wasn't that she hadn't wanted something romantic, someone to share her worries with, and who she could enjoy being around without worry. It was just that – she didn't feel like she _needed_ that in her life.

And yet here she was, struggling to make sense of the emotions she hadn't experienced since high school, all because the same man that she'd met years ago and fell in love with, had re-appeared in her life.

Ridiculous.

And yet.

And yet.

And yet-

Groaning she flopped onto her front, smothering her face angrily to muffle the noise, lest she woke Tiffany.

She hated this. She hated being in this situation and not knowing how to act. She hated not knowing how Naru would feel knowing about all this. And most importantly, she hated not knowing whether or not she should just go for it.

(Because the last time she just went for it, all she got was pain and heartbreak.)

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Mai tried to switch gears. There were more important things for her to worry about right now then her maybe-soon-to-exist love life.

Case in point – whatever spirit was haunting this place.

She was definitely eager to find out whether or not anything happened throughout the night.

Especially since Jacob, who she hadn't yet met (due to going to bed before he had returned from work) was the one who experienced the majority of the activity, and it usually took place at night.

The image of a wooden door swinging open at midnight returned to her mind, before she shook it away.

There had been more than enough thinking about _that_ particular dream yesterday.

Glancing over at the time on her phone again, Mai sighed when she noted that it had barely hit six-thirty and resigned herself once more to waiting as the clock continued to tick by.

_'I should at least get changed.'_

With another sigh, she forced herself from under the covers, quickly changing into a new pair of jeans and a clean shirt, before jumping back into bed, shivering a little as she waited for the material to warm up with her.

Mai's mind wandered some more, and yet the moment she heard Tiffany's alarm go off, she couldn't have been more grateful.

It was another twenty minutes before the other girl was changed and ready to go downstairs, but Mai was relieved when they finally made it down to base.

“Morning.” She chirped, smiling brightly, a little amused at the irritation on both Thomas' and Roy's face.

Apparently, none of them were morning people.

“You're a little too chipper this morning, Mai.” Thomas muttered, a weak smile on his face.

Pouting, Mai flopped back onto the couch. “Would you rather I be as grumpy as those two?” She joked, pointing over towards Lin and Naru, who were looking over something on the monitors.

“If it meant you would shut up, yes.” Roy grumbled.

The brunette didn't bother to take it to heart, given Ayako usually said the same thing.

“If you're quite done, I can give you the run-down of what happened last night.” Naru interrupted coldly, glaring over at Mai, and then over at Roy when he realised it was having zero effect on her.

Sitting straighter in her seat, Mai grabbed the notebook she'd been using to jot down her own notes whenever she got the chance, clicking her pen and waiting, curiosity high.

“Last night, outside of Mr and Mrs Hansen's room, there was a significant temperature drop. The cameras also managed to capture a sort of black mist or shadow, opening the door at midnight. It didn't do anything but stay there for a while, before the door shut again and it disappeared.” Naru informed them, bringing up a clip from last night's recordings, stepping out of the way so that they could all see it from where they were sitting.

“That's the same shadow _thing_ from my dream.” Mai confirmed, looking over at Naru.

He nodded. “I was quite certain it would be.”

“But one thing doesn't make sense to me. In your dreams, don't they go in and kill the guy in the end? Why has he been so passive until now?” Roy raised, frowning a little.

Mai considered it, thinking over all the dreams that she'd had so far. “It's possible that the shadow watched and waited in the first place, taking his time, although I can't know for sure until I dream some more.”

“Don't try to force it. You'll be useless if you exhaust yourself spiritually.”

Mai narrowed her eyes at Naru, appreciating that he was trying to look out for her, but reminded of how stilted he used to be, and his inability to express concern for others without insulting them.

“You just going to have to trust that I know my limits, Naru. Are you going to be able to do that?”

He narrowed his eyes back. “I'm going to have to, aren't I?” He agreed finally.

Nodding in satisfaction, Mai smiled. “Now you're getting it.”

If it weren't for the other people in the room, she was almost certain that she could have gotten a snort in reaction, and that made her all the more satisfied.

“Before we do anything else, can I suggest that we get breakfast?” Mai raised, when she realised that not a single person in the room looked inclined to move away from where they had begun to set up for the day, research in front of them once more.

“We don't usually bother...” Tiffany trailed off, wincing a little at the raised eyebrow she got in response, and the unimpressed expression on Mai's features.

“Oh? Is that so?” She asked, voice polite. “Well that's a shame because _I do bother_. And until the end of the case, that means you all bother also.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Don't be so dramatic. It's not that important.”

Mai couldn't help the affronted look on her face, as she turned to look over at Lin and Naru. “Is this your doing?”

“I've never once _stopped_ them from going to have breakfast. I simply don't partake myself.” Naru scoffed. “They're adults and they make their own decision.”

“No, they're following your poorly set example. _Kami-sama_ , Naru. This is ridiculous. Wait until I tell Madoka about this.” Mai ranted, frowning.

Thomas tried to look disarmingly at her, shaking his head. “Please don't worry about us, Mai. Dr. Davis is right. We're adults and we're more than capable of making our own decisions. It's not far to blame him for our lack of self-care. Breakfast just isn't that important in comparison to figuring out the case.” He admitted softly.

Throwing her hands up, Mai didn't remove her gaze from Naru, eyes still narrowed. “That's true. You are adults that can make your own decisions,” She conceded. “However, Naru should have at least had the decency to explain that eating breakfast on case is _more important_.”

Tiffany frowned. “I'm not sure I follow.” She admitted, and Mai took a moment to smile over at her.

“Do you know how many times I, or someone I've known, has been taken by a spirit while on a case?” The brunette asked.

When Tiffany shook her head, Mai continued. “I've been kidnapped by spirits on three separate occasions, and two of my friends also have experience with this.”

There was a shocked and horrified look on Tiffany's face, and from the corner of her eye, Mai noticed the creased eyebrows on Naru's face.

Good. That meant he was actually paying attention, and that he didn't like where things were going.

“There is no warning, before you get taken by a spirit. You don't have any control over the situation at all, in fact. They don't care how much food you've had to eat, when your most recent meal was, or how much water you've had to drink. Whatever reason they take you for, I can guarantee that they don't care about those kinds of details. This means that when you skip meals, you put yourself in a position of weakness if you ever are taken.

“Consider, you get kidnapped a little before we head off to eat lunch, and you didn't eat breakfast. It's probably been at least twelve hours since you last ate. That's going to take its toll on you very quickly.”

Roy hummed. “I can see your point, but humans are more than capable of going long periods of time without food.”

Turning to look at him, Mai nodded in agreement. “Yes, humans can. But also consider this; when we get hungry, it tends to compromise various parts of our lives. It distracts us and drains our energy faster. It impedes our ability to think and focus, both essential if you plan to help yourself escape wherever the spirit has taken you.” She explained, watching carefully for reactions from the rest of Naru's team, as the reality of what she was saying finally began to sink in.

“I think you've made your point.” Naru sighed out, getting up from his seat.

Mai grinned, completely unapologetic. “As long as you guys understand.”

“You all can go and eat breakfast-”

“Naru-”

Naru glared at Mai, before rolling his eyes. “And then Lin and I will grab _something_ to eat, if it will shut you up.”

Pumping her fist in the air when he finished speaking, Mai grinned, before heading off to go and do just that. Tiffany, Roy, and Thomas trailed after her.

Breakfast passed by quickly, Mai chatting away with Isabella like they were old friends, grinning widely as she munched away on some toast and sipped at a cup of tea.

Finished with her food, the brunette washed her plate before setting it up to dry, intending to wait as the rest of them finished as well.

As she turned around to walk to the doorway where she would wait, she stopped in place, completely frozen.

Swallowing thickly, she shook herself from what she thought might have been some sort of waking dream and was disappointed to see that the man was still standing there.

“Jason, honey, this is Mai. She's working with Dr. Davis and his team to solve this case.” Isabella introduced, completely unaware of Mai's current internal struggle.

“Wonderful to meet you. Hopefully things have been going well so far?” Jason inquired, offering his hand out to shake.

On auto-pilot, Mai nodded, shaking his hand quickly before letting her hand drop to her side. “We definitely caught some activity last night, and we'll do our best to solve this case as quickly as possible.” She promised.

He nodded. “I appreciate that. I'm not sure how much longer I can take this before I lose it.” Jason admitted.

“Of course. Don't worry about a thing, sir. Dr. Davis is the best of the best, so you definitely have nothing to worry about.”

Isabella smiled at her. “Such a sweetheart.”

Glancing over at the time, Mai smiled at them politely. “Speaking of Dr. Davis, however, I had better be getting back to work. Wasting time is sure to get us in trouble.” She joked, mock whispering.

“Don't let him hear you say that.” Tiffany warned, a smile tugging at her lips.

Thomas chuckled. “She'd probably get away with it though since Dr. Davis likes her.” He pointed out, before wincing when Tiffany elbowed him, and Roy shot him a glare.

“Uh- I just mean-”

Mai giggled at the backtrack, shaking her head. “No, it's fine. I know what you meant, and you aren't entirely incorrect. But that doesn't mean he won't get up you all for standing around. So off we go.”

Waving goodbye to Isabella and Jason, Mai made her way back to base with the team behind her, relaxing as they began to banter back and forwards for the first time since this case had begun.

It was definitely an improvement to the staunch silence that usually seemed to hang around them.

Stepping inside, she gave Naru a pointed look. “You and Lin better go and get something to eat now.”

The eye roll was immediate, but both men got out of their seats.

“Roy, watch the monitors. Thomas, I expect you to have the report about those deaths linked to Mai's dream from yesterday ready when I return so that we can go over it all. Tiffany, help him.” He ordered.

“Once you've eaten, I want to tell you about something as well, Naru.”

Naru frowned at that, eye's narrowed. “Are you sure it has to wait?”

“It's nothing urgent. Go and eat some food, and then I'll explain it to you.” Mai promised, shooing them out quickly, amused at the disgruntled expression that it caused.

When they were gone, she wandered over to where Tiffany and Thomas were working, glancing over their shoulders.

“Anything interesting?” She inquired.

Thomas sighed. “Not really. There are a couple of cases that match your dream, but we're having a hard time pinning down which one is the most likely.” He admitted.

Humming, Mai frowned. “Wouldn't it be easier just to show them to me and have me tell you which one matches the dream best?”

Tiffany bit her lip, eyes darting away nervously.

“Well- yes it would.” Thomas agreed reluctantly, “But-”

“But Dr. Davis asked us last night to refrain from reminding you of the dream if we can.” Roy explained, cutting off whatever stuttering explanation she had likely been about to receive.

Sighing, Mai's lips twitched a little as she squashed down the irritation that wanted to rise.

Naru was just looking out for her and her best interests, and it wouldn't help anyone if she got angry about it.

“It's okay. I should be fine it I look them over for you.”

Thomas looked unsure, but Roy snorted. “Just hand them over. Dr. Davis can scold her if something bad happens.” He pointed out, eyes never straying from the monitors.

“That's a little harsh, don't you think?” Tiffany asked, frowning.

Mai smiled kindly at her, shaking her head, remembering that she herself probably would have said something similar once upon a time.

Oh, how things have changed since then.

“It's okay. Roy's right.” She admitted. “Better me than any of you at any rate.”

“If you're sure...” Thomas trailed over, before offering the pages to her.

Scanning over them, Mai focused on the information, refusing to let herself be dragged into the memories of the past.

Looking over the ages and the causes of death, she frowned. They were all knife related, but only some of them depicted the same dismemberment that Mai had experienced in her dream.

And wasn't it just completely messed up that there had been so many incidents in this house alone? What were the statistics on the likelihood of that?

Naru probably knew.

He would probably have a couple of hypotheses on why this house seemed to be attracting so many deaths.

Without another thought, she noted that down for a later moment, since it would definitely benefit her writing for another story at some point.

She came across the details of an elderly man on the page, who fit the description from her dream extremely well.

_Nicholas Fredrickson (See Image E)._

Flipping over the page, Mai found the image quickly enough, and she barely restrained herself from gasping when she saw the man in the picture.

“Well I was right. I found our elderly man.” Mai admitted softly, turning the image around so that Tiffany and Thomas could see it better.

“You're positive?” Thomas asked, glancing up at her.

Mai nodded gravely, face solemn. “More sure than anything else in my life.”

“Doesn't he kind of-” Tiffany started.

“Look like Mr Hansen, Jason, if he were a fair few years older?” Mai asked, smiling wryly at her. “Yes. Yes, he does.”

Thomas frowned. “I'm not sure I see it.” He admitted.

“It's the eyes.” Mai explained, pointing to them. “I'd never be able to mistake them for anything else. Now the question is, why do they look so similar?”

Thomas smiled wryly. “The research for this case is just never going to end, is it?” He joked.

Mai laughed. “It never does. It never does.”

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

*Parapsychology Today is a book that exists, but to my knowledge it is not a subscription magazine as I'm implying here. I do not own the book, obviously. I will probably reference this in discussion.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me over at shellsan.tumblr.com! (If you are one of those people who like to come by when I'm supposed to be updating it might help you out to go over and check, because i keep things updated over there.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, back with the next chapter of Nefelibata. Sorry about the delays, I know that originally the update for this was supposed to go up on the 21st of July, however, since getting back home, I've been flat out picking up extra shifts because I've been tight on money. Then when I thought things were settling down, I was asked last minute to come back home for a month and work at my old job here to cover my sister being away (which means way more hours and more money for me, so I couldn't really afford to turn it down), so I spent a week where I was excited to sit down and just work on my writing, getting things ready for my being away for so long. I've officially settled in back home now and have managed to clear my sisters desk off enough to set my laptop up there and work on things, so hopefully things will start running more smoothly now. Despite this however, this story will not be on regular updates for a while. It's too difficult to try and juggle a regular update schedule with how things are currently. Hopefully I will find time to get at least one more chapter out in the coming weeks, but I can't promise anything.
> 
> That said, the release of this chapter also marks the update of every chapter of Nefelibata currently available~
> 
> For anyone who also reads TCOL but doesn't follow me over on tumblr for updates on my schedule, I'm way behind on the re-writes and editing due to everything, so that will not be going up on time either (as would be noted by now since the date for that was a week ago). Apologies for how long that's taking as well. I'm hoping to have the edits completed next Sunday, the 25th of August, otherwise it should be up on the 1st of September.
> 
> On another note, is there something you guys would prefer then checking my tumblr for information on when my updates are going up, or when delays are happening? E.g. Me putting it up on my 'about' page? Let me know if there is! For those of you who added me on tumblr, or who want to check where things are at, you can use the tag “updates on my updates” to go straight to my latest posts about how things are going and whether there will be further delays.
> 
> Enough with all that rambling though, in this chapter the case continues, and we start to get bits and pieces of the information we need to see this through. Unfortunately, I'm still having a little trouble getting things to flow for long periods of time, I don't know why, but hopefully this is still okay for you all to read~
> 
> Something to note: In the previous chapter I managed to miss in editing that I called “Jacob” Jason (no I don't understand how, I have notes for this!) not just once, but for every mention in that chapter? It should be fixed now, but in case you were wondering, the character's name is Jacob.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Newspaper Article**

**Chapter Nine**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Predictably, it didn't take Naru and Lin long before they were walking back in; Roy moving away from the monitors without waiting to be told, allowing Lin to re-take his usual spot.

“Now. What was it that you wanted to tell me about?” Naru asked, frowning over at Mai.

Grabbing the file that they'd been looking over earlier from the table, Mai walked over, handing it to him.

“Image E is the one that depicts the man in my dream.” She explained, waiting as Naru found it, eyebrows drawn tight. “Does he look like anyone in particular?”

Snapping it shut, Naru scowled. “It would seem that Mr Hansen might have more history with this house then we originally thought. Thomas, I want you to look into his family history, see if you can start to connect the dots. See if any of it links up to the previous deaths in this house as well.”

“The previous deaths?” Tiffany asked, tilting her head.

“I have a hunch.” Was all Naru said, making Mai roll her eyes.

Of course, he did. And of course, he didn't plan to share it with the rest of them.

“Roy, I want you and Tiffany to go around and see if she can sense anything from the spirit.”

Mai perked up at this turning to look at the other girl curiously. “You're a psychic?”

Flushing a little, Tiffany shifted from side to side, projecting a slightly nervous energy. “I'm a medium, but I have more off days than on ones...” She admitted. “And I'm not very good.”

“How long have you been sensing as a medium?”

Tiffany hummed, thinking about it. “I was tested in my second year of my degree, so for around four years now, I think, that I've been aware of?”

“Did you receive training for your abilities?” Mai asked.

Tiffany glanced over at Naru for a moment before looking back at Mai. “For a little while, yes. Maybe around a month or so, whenever I could fit together my schedule with one of the mediums that works for BSPR. Not really since then...” She trailed off.

Biting her lip, the brunette frowned, glancing over at Naru, before back at her. “Then there's your reason for your lack of control, if nothing else.” She pointed out. “A month of meagre training isn't going to be nearly enough for you to learn what you really have to. It took me _years_ to get to this standard with my own abilities.”

Going over to where Mai had put down her bigger notebook, she ripped out a page before jotting down Masako's e-mail account.

“Here. A friend of mine should be able to help you out.” She offered the page to a curious looking Tiffany.

Roy glanced over her shoulder, his eyes widening at the words scribbled down.

“Masako Hara? You know Masako Hara?” He wondered, clearly bewildered.

Shrugging, Mai grinned. “I've known Masako for years. She's a good friend of mine.”

“If you're quite finished, I believe I asked the two of you to go and do something?” Naru threatened, glaring at Tiffany and Roy.

Without another word, the both of them scampered out of the room, Tiffany's hand holding onto Masako's email tightly.

“Last I checked, you and Miss Hara weren't even close to friends.” Naru raised, after a moment of silence.

Mai shrugged. “Last you checked, Naru, was five years ago.” She pointed out, giving him a considering look. She felt a little regretful when she noted the slight guilt in his eyes, despite her matter-of-fact tone. “But you are right. Masako and I never got along at first. We were a couple of stupid sixteen-year-old girls from very different backgrounds. She's rich and famous, and I was an orphan doing my best to survive in an industry I didn't understand. It just wasn't the kind of environment that fosters friendship.”

It was a sad truth, and one they'd both had come to accept. It had been easier to get to know each other without Naru in the picture though – and it was one of the things that made Mai wonder if him leaving was worth it in the end. If the changes it had forced her to make in her life had been worth the journey it took to get to them: the pain she'd felt after Naru left her, with her heart in pieces, unsure of what the future would hold.

But she also recognised that it wasn't going to help anyone for her to think about it like this. Whatever happened was already in the past, and no matter how much it had hurt to get here, she was here now.

For worse, or in her opinion, for better.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After the morning had passed and the team had all eaten something for lunch (at Mai's insistence, naturally), they settled in that afternoon to discuss the current information available, and what the research so far had turned up.

Naru cleared his throat, cutting off Mai's quiet murmured conversation with Tiffany from the corner of the couch, giving her a disapproving look; clearly aware that if it weren't for the brunette, there wouldn't _be_ any talking right now.

Sticking her tongue out in response, Mai pouted a little as she let her head fall back against the couch, arms crossing in front of her chest.

“Now then, let's review.” Naru began, “Earlier today we confirmed from Mai's dreams that the death she's been dreaming of is Nicholas Fredrickson, a seventy-eight-year-old man who was discovered in pieces inside this house in the year 1911. What else have we discovered about his death?”

Thomas flipped over a couple of pages that were stapled together. “According to the records, Nicholas' case wasn't a cold case, but the man responsible for his death has been blacked out of the only ones I could get a hold of, although I don't understand why. It's possible that he was part of the upper-class and used money to get away with it, especially if the killer was an influential person during the time.” He hypothesised, beaming when he gained a nod of approval.

“I'll take that into consideration. What else did you find?”

Wincing at how harsh Naru's tone still sounded, and how Thomas' excitement deflated so quickly, Mai sighed, relenting to the idea that there was only so much Naru had changed.

“Right. Since I couldn't look into the actual name of the killer, I looked around for articles that still exist from the same time period and I found this instead.”

Pulling out a couple pages, he passed one over to Naru, and put another down on the table for each of them all to have a look at.

Picking it up, and bringing it closer, Mai frowned at the English, taking a moment to read the faded ink carefully.

**THE TRUTH BEHIND LORD CONSTELLO'S DEATH AND HIS SON'S TAKE OVER**

**It's been only a couple years since the death of our beloved Lord Constello, local owner to the infamous sweets company,** _**Treats and Sweets,** _ **who passed away, leaving behind only his son who we knew next to nothing about.**

**Only days ago,** _**The Daily** _ **, was given a tip from an anonymous source that informed us that Lord Constello's death may not have been all that accidental. According to our source, Lord Constello's son and heir apparent, Samuel Constello, has been unstable since the untimely passing of his mother.**

**In the past, there were mentions of his proclaiming to have spoken with his mother and communicated with her, and these signs did not lessen with age, instead only increasing...**

The article continued for a while, but what caught Mai's eye was a quote further down, taken from Samuel Constello himself.

“ _ **I understand that there are concerns about my mental health from the public, but I assure you that these are just false assumptions. I am not crazy.”**_

Almost as if they were being drawn from those words, Mai heard the same voice from her dream muttering about how he wasn't insane in the back of her mind.

“Interesting. Good work.”

Snapping from her thoughts at the sound of Naru's voice, Mai blinked, grinning at the slightly unsure look on Naru's face, clearly unused to giving praise.

The desired effect was there, however, with Thomas' features glowing at the praise.

“Have we discovered anything else?” Naru continued, resolutely ignoring Mai's grin.

Roy nodded from where he was seated. “I was looking into your suspicions about the family background and I found a family tree. According to it, Mr Hansen's great grandfather's _brother_ , was Mr Fredrickson himself, so there's the relation. Apparently when his brother died, Mr Hansen's grandfather was distraught with depression and he killed himself, leaving behind his wife and their children, one of whom, was expecting a child.” He recited.

“Were any of the other deaths, in any way, related to the Hansen's family line?” Naru asked, hand moving to the contemplative look that Mai had gotten so used to over the years.

“There's nothing definitive in the family tree. It is, however, worth noting that the pictures of all the men who have died in this house show that they all had a similar look, especially with the eyes.

Another piece of paper was passed around, and sure enough, when Mai finally got her hands on it, she was greeted by the sight of familiar piercing eyes looking back at her.

Putting it down to avoid staring at them anymore, Mai swallowed.

“How does everyone feel about some tea?” She suggested, forcing a smile onto her face as she looked around. “Or, coffee, I suppose.”

Naru narrowed his eyes at her. “I'll go with you.” Thomas volunteered, noting the silence Mai had gotten in response, and noting his boss's slight distrust. “I've already given my report anyway.”

Breaking contact, Naru sighed. “Fine. Be quick, and do _not_ split up.” He warned.

Mai rolled her eyes. “We're going across the hall, Naru. It'll be fine.”

The 'hm' she got in response didn't sound convinced, but she didn't bother sticking around to hear any more opinions on the matter.

Stepping out of the room, she grinned when Thomas hurried after her, noticeably relaxing when they were a little further out of the base, stepping inside the kitchen instead.

Humming lightly, Mai turned on the electric kettle and set about collecting everything to make the tea and coffee.

“So, what do you make of everything so far?” Thomas asked, breaking the silence finally.

Shrugging, Mai tapped out the coffee into three cups, not stopping to look at him as she spoke. “I don't usually draw that many conclusions from things on cases.” She admitted.

Thomas frowned. “What do you mean? You don't hypothesise at all?”

Mai smiled a little, stopping this time to look over at him. “Not usually. I used to, but these days I prefer to seek the truth then to speculate over everything.”

“You don't like to solve the mysteries?”

Laughing a little at his confusion, she shook her head. “It's not really what draws me to the ghost hunting business, no.”

“Then what does?”

It was silent for a moment as Mai considered her response carefully rolling the unexpected question over in her mind.

“Helping them.”

“Huh.”

The confusion was even more pronounced, and Mai sighed as she turned back to making the drinks.

“For you guys, you all see the facts and information, separate from the case. For me, it's not quite the same. During cases, I slowly discover bits and pieces about the spirits and their pasts. I discover information about what their life was like, how they became stuck, what their business is. And more importantly, I learn about _them_. Who they were, who they could have been.” She explained slowly, struggling to put everything into words for someone who didn't have any experience with being a psychic.

“How does this help them though?” Thomas inquired. There was no judgement in his voice, only an interest to learn more and understand.

For a moment, Mai could see the similarities between him and Yasu – although Yasu was much more of an extrovert. But the essence of their reaction was the same.

“For most spirits, they're trapped somewhere because of trauma that happened before their deaths that went unsolved. They're reliving life in a painful state until they become twisted. Helping those spirits to move on, is what I really aim for.”

It was silent between them for a moment, the sound of Mai stirring water into the coffee cups, the tea bags already steeping in the other cups.

“Do you think he was really crazy?” Thomas asked finally. “I mean- I know you said you don't hypothesise- but everything you have said so far, Dr. Davis seems to value, and I was just-”

Mai giggled a little, cutting off the rambling easily.

“It's fine. I definitely think that Samuel wasn't the most stable minded person-” she started, cutting herself off a moment later, a feeling of cold drifting over her body.

Thomas seemed completely unaware, however, nodding in understanding. “Yeah, I get that. According to what we could find, he was really off his rocker. It's a wonder anyone let him out of the house-”

The temperature seemed to drop further in the room, and Mai put out a hand, shaking her head.

Frowning, Thomas blinked. “What's wrong?”

There was a flicker of annoyance at his lack of attention, before Mai squashed it (along with the voice at the back of her head that reminded her of how little Naru believed in them, and suggested that there might be a reason for that), reminding herself to be patient.

“Samuel Constello.” Mai breathed, a small cloud of white forming in front of her mouth, body shivering at this point.

The room was dead silent, before a shadow seemed to appear in the doorway, blocking the closest exit to base.

“I'm not crazy.” The shadow whispered, unnaturally calm.

“Okay.” Mai agreed, swallowed thickly, ignoring the confusion from Thomas.

“You all think I'm crazy.” It insisted again, voice slightly angrier, accusatory, almost.

Mai shook her head. “I never said that.”

“You think that I'm unstable!”

“I think that you need help. And I want to help you.” She insisted, voice soft as she stared the shadow down, determined not to show weakness.

For a moment, the room was silent, before the shadow seemed to dissipate, the silhouette of a man revealed for a moment before it flashed forwards towards her, the darkness reforming like a cloak wrapping around his form once more.

“I don't need your help. I'll stop it all on my own.” He hissed, eye's flashing red, the contrast with the darkness shrouding him causing the brunette to tremble slightly.

“Stop what?” Mai asked, readying herself to chant.

“I'll stop it all, and there's nothing you can do to save him.”

Swallowing thickly, Mai shook her head, keeping an eye on Thomas from the corner of her eye.

“We'll stop you.” She insisted.

The mist was back, and the silhouette completely shrouded once more. “But will you manage it before I stop his heart?”

The words were whispered, a sense of foreboding filling Mai. There was a whistle and the sight of Lin's _shiki_ entered her vision, rushing through the shadow form, only to miss as it completely faded away.

Almost instantly, Thomas' legs appeared to give out, body hitting the floor with a thud, a shocked look on his face.

“What the hell happened?” Naru demanded, stepping into the room, frowning at a shivering Mai and a pale looking Thomas.

“Well.” Mai muttered, smiling weakly. “I think we can be pretty certain about the identity of our killer.”

Naru didn't look impressed by her humour.

 _To be fair,_ Mai had to admit to herself, _I'm not too impressed by it either._

Despite that thought, she couldn't help but giggle, shock beginning to settle in.

Frowning further, Naru sighed. “Let's get you to bed. I think you need to rest up. Lin, please grab the other two on your way past. Roy can wait with Thomas while he recovers. Please drop Tiffany off with Mai as well.

“I'll wait for you outside of the girl's room.” Lin agreed, leaving no room for Naru to argue.

He just nodded in agreement, before grabbing a hold of Mai's wrist, wincing at the immediate feeling of cold seeping into his skin.

“Come on idiot, let's get you into a warm bed.” He grumbled, all but dragging her along, as her legs failed to comply with her intent to move, struggling not to crumble as the adrenaline faded away.

“Your bedside manner is terrible, Naru. You aren't supposed to insult the person you're helping.” She grumbled, her shakes due to the cold only as the fear faded with the adrenaline.

Naru scoffed. “I'm not at your bedside, and we're both aware that my manners are non-existent.”

Mai stumbled slightly at the unexpected joke, eye's widening as the shock over her discussion with the ghost faded and instead, she tried to wrap her head around what he'd just said to her.

Sighing, Naru shot her an annoyed look. “I swear Mai, if you don't get a move on, then I will carry you myself.” He warned.

Flushing a little at the image that conjured in her mind, Mai huffed. “I'm moving as fast as I can, but my legs are a little like jelly right now, you jerk.”

Rolling his eyes, Naru scoffed, letting his hand fall away from her wrist, amused at the confusion on Mai's face, before he pulled her into his arms, refusing to marvel at how perfectly she fit as her cheeks turned bright red.

“Naru.” She hissed.

Raising an eyebrow, he didn't bother to respond, holding her carefully and opting instead to walk carefully up the stairs.

“I can't believe you actually picked me up.” Mai grumbled when they finally reached the girl's room, Naru laying her carefully onto the bed, watching in amusement when she quickly pulled the covers out from underneath herself and curled up under them, still shivering a little.

Naru smirked. “I told you that I would. You said that you were incapable of getting a move on, so I just followed through.” He pointed out, content when Mai's face twisted in a sort of reluctant agreement.

“Whatever.” She pouted.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Naru asked after a moment, sighing as the relatively good mood drained away, leaving behind a more serious look on Mai's face.

“I'm not entirely sure myself.” Mai admitted softly, looking down at her hands. “Thomas and I were discussing the case, and he asked for my opinion on whether or not the spirit was crazy. I told him that I believed that Samuel wasn't completely mentally stable. It got colder, but it didn't seem like he was going to lash out. But them Thomas said something, that I don't quite understand?”

Nodding, Naru motioned for her to continue, his eyebrows drawn in concentration.

“He said that he was 'off his rocker'*?” The words didn't make sense to her, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

The seriousness of the moment was lost for just a second, when Naru scoffed. “It just means that Thomas was calling him crazy.”

Mai made a face. “Why couldn't he have just said that?” She grumbled, pouting when Naru just seemed amused by her lack of comprehension.

“What happened next.” Naru prompted, instead of answering her question.

“That's what I really don't understand.”

Naru gave her an unimpressed look, and Mai huffed.

“He was talking about 'stopping' something all on his own. It didn't make any sense to me.” She explained.

That seemed to have caught Naru's attention, because his smirk quickly faded into a more thoughtful look.

“Interesting.” He admitted.

Raising an eyebrow, Mai couldn't help her irritated look. “Interesting? Really Naru?”

“Yes, Mai. Interesting. Is there a problem with that?”

“Yes! It could mean anything!”

“Exactly.”

Mai's hands were in the air before she's even considered her frustration. “I can't believe you.” She huffed, before deflating, hands falling back down. “Well, that's not quite right. I can believe it, but I wish I couldn't.”

Naru rolled his eyes. “You're being overly dramatic.” He deadpanned.

“No, I'm being realistic. The more we _don't_ know, the more _dangerous_ things become.”

“And you're welcome to leave at any time.” Naru reminded, not unkindly.

Groaning, Mai grabbed a pillow and used it to muffle a scream of frustration, flushing when she noticed the look on Naru's face.

“Stop looking at me like that, jerk.”

“I'm just impressed by just how childish you still are. To think I'd almost convinced myself that you'd grown up.” He teased, watching her cheeks go from pink to red.

“Don't you have work to be doing.” Mai demanded after a moment, crossing her arms as she tried to ignore the heat that was still on her cheeks.

As if being summoned by those words (and considering what Lin was like, perhaps he had waited just for this moment), he appeared at the door, Tiffany stepping into the room to keep Mai company while the Chinese man waited respectfully for Naru to exit.

“ _Get some rest, idiot. Try not to sleep through dinner.”_ Naru warned.

The sudden switch to Japanese confused Mai, but she nodded none the less, anger gone in the face of her uncertainty.

“ _I'll try, but we'll see._ ” She joked.

He didn't respond to that, stepping out into the hall, the door clicking shut behind him.

“Something I should know about?” Tiffany teased after a moment, looking a little awkward in the room.

A bell went off in Mai's head, and she couldn't help but giggle when she realised something that should have been clear from the first moment.

Tiffany raised an eyebrow, prompting another giggle from the brunette.

“Don't worry about it. Just something I remembered about Naru.” She promised.

“Not going to share, I take it?” Tiffany sighed.

Mai hugged the pillow she had been screaming into to her chest, a grin on her face.

“Nope.” She agreed simply.

Tiffany didn't need to know that Naru had switched to Japanese to avoid having someone in his team be aware that he could be _caring_.

It would be her own little secret, and that was more than enough for Mai.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sitting in base, Oliver sighed, jotting down the notes he'd gotten from Mai's impromptu report just half an hour earlier; trying desperately not to let his mind drift back to how the younger girl (woman, a voice in the back of his mind corrected) had felt in his arms, warm and completely trusting despite how long it had been since the last time they'd found themselves in a similar situation.

His eyes narrowed in frustration, glaring down at his notebook. That was _not_ helping in the slightest.

A thought of how Gene would have found his current situation so hilarious cross his mind. It was a both a relief and disheartening to realise that his brother would never get to see the moment when he, the emotionless twin (although Gene had known that wasn't quite true), fell for a girl and didn't know what to do.

For the first time in a long time, Oliver allowed himself to think back on how different his life had been without Gene, and how similar it felt not having Mai around him over these past few years.

His mother had said that it was more like he was 'surviving' then 'living'; going through the motions because he knew that that's what Gene would have wanted.

She hadn't been wrong.

There was an ache in his chest, a phantom pain, the ghost of his hurt from years ago, ever present, but no more painful now than any other day.

Thinking of Gene, however, served as a good reminder for his conversation with Mai from only days before.

“ _I never really knew either of you all that well.”**_

The statement had taken him by surprise then, and thinking back on it, he couldn't help but feel guilty. They'd hidden so much from Mai despite knowing how kind her nature was, and how hard she'd have tried to help, always putting others before herself.

By not telling her these things, he'd made her question how well she really knew him and how much of what she had known was true.

It was simple a+b=c, and yet he'd never even considered the effects his own actions might have on her.

_'How could she even stand to be around me after all of that?'_

It was something he hadn't even stopped to consider until now, but it reflected on the way Mai had hinted minutely at how she'd felt about his leaving just the once and never again.

She hadn't brought it up again at all, since the first time they'd spoken upon meeting at the parapsychology convention.

 _'She realised that it was making me feel guilty.'_ He recognised, frowning further at just how far her desire to put others ahead of herself really went.

He would have deserved every quip about his leaving, and how it affected everyone, not just her. Wouldn't have even tried to defend himself if he was being honest with himself.

But she hadn't, because she was better than that. Too _good_ for that.

_'So good that if I asked her out, she would probably say yes no matter how she felt.'_

And that was just another layer of problems for him to consider. If, _if_ , he decided to try and pursue Mai despite the logic screaming that he shouldn't.

 _'At least if Gene was here to make fun of my... lack of romantic foresight, he would have some advice to give me.'_ He lamented, mostly resigned to having to figure it out himself (not even considering asking anyone else for help, he could already see how that would go down).

_'All you ever had to do was ask.'_

The unexpected response made Oliver's head shoot up in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, glancing around the room quickly before logic kicked in and he calmed himself.

There was a tug at the other end of his mental link, and he frowned.

Had he imagined that.

 _'I don't know, did you?'_ The voice taunted at the back of his mind, so _Gene_ , but there was so way-

_'God you're such an idiot scientist.'_

The familiar tease made him tense in surprise.

_'Gene?'_

_'Do you know of anyone else that would be speaking to you in your head?'_

Oliver scoffed mentally, picturing the smug look on his brother's face. _'You're supposed to have passed over.'_

_'And you and Mai were supposed to be together, not stuck in this endless purgatory of 'will I, won't I', and yet, here we are.'_

_'Mai and I aren't_ supposed _to be anything.'_ Oliver couldn't help but hiss mentally, frustrated.

_'You could have been.'_

_'What do you want? I have work to do.'_

_'Of course. Work. Like thinking about how best to get Mai to agree to a date and running in mental circles.'_ Gene agreed.

Out of habit Oliver's fingers came up to rub at his temples gently, attempting to dispel the headache that was beginning to build.

Luckily, he was saved from having to say anything further by Lin clearing his throat.

“Have you reached any conclusions about the new information yet?” The older man inquired.

If Oliver was less focused on the shock of Gene's sudden appearance, he might have noticed the subtle amusement dancing in the other's eyes, but as it were, he simply nodded, looking back down at his notes.

“I have a couple of ideas, but I need more information before I can draw any conclusions.” He lied, pushing at Gene the same way he would have when his twin was alive.

 _'I get it, I get it. Time for you to do some work. I'll be back later though! Someone's gotta help you sort this situation with Mai out.'_ Gene grumbled back before it was silent in Oliver's head once more.

He immediately felt the lack of presence but didn't allow himself to dwell. That was enough emotions for now. Time for facts and logic.

As he settled in to solve the mysteries of this case once more, Oliver missed the smirk on Lin's face; the more open amusement at his charge's response to being subtly reminded about work.

It was good to have Mai back.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Oliver let everyone get away with resting up for nearly two hours before he decided it had been long enough and had them all join him downstairs. Or rather, he asked for Roy and Thomas, planning to leave Mai to rest – something he refused to acknowledge as the brunette showed up anyway, practically daring him to scold her in a single look.

Thomas had colour back in his cheeks and was looking much less spooked, and more like he was ready to figure out what the hell was going on.

Good. That was the kind of 'bounce' back he expected of his team.

Similarly, Mai looked much more alive, smiling widely now that she knew that he wasn't going to start a fight about her lack of rest.

“Has anything happened in the past couple of hours?” Roy asked.

Oliver shook his head. “Nothing in the past couple hours. Thomas, I have Mai's recount of everything already, but I'll also need you to write up one as well to document your own experience.”

He waited until he gained a nod in response to his words before continuing with his outline of everything Mai had been able to tell him about the encounter.

By the end of it all, everyone was looking more intrigued, and Oliver waited to see what they might draw as conclusions from the new information.

“Stopping something?” Tiffany muttered quietly; her expression perplexed.

Mai nodded. “That's what he was talking about. I'm not... entirely sure what that could mean. I think we need more information about Nicholas to figure it out.” She admitted.

“Did you manage to sleep at all?” Oliver asked, feeling a little bad for the intent, but the brunette didn't seem concerned.

“I did manage to sleep, but what you really want to know is if I dreamed, right?” Mai asked. She didn't wait for a response before continuing. “I didn't manage to dream. I'm being blocked again, I think? Samuel must have realised that he'd accidentally allowed me to see the last dream.”

Oliver frowned. “Did he show up in your dreamscape at all?”

Mai shook her head. “Nothing of the sort.” She assured him. “It's just that usually, by now, I have a feel for the house and the spirit that we're dealing with. With Samuel, that's not the case. I can't seem to get a hold on him, or his memories.”

Noting down the new information on Mai's abilities for later reference (which also served as a reminder that they hadn't discussed her abilities at all yet – a mistake he would be sure to rectify by the end of this case), he allowed himself to drift off thought wise.

Samuel was still managing to block Mai and they were no closer to discovering what the reason for that was – or how Samuel was managing it.

“Thomas, I want you to look into those reports on Samuel's insanity. See if you can dig up some more of the reasons _why_ everyone was concerned.”

Mai raised an eyebrow. “But I thought that it was because he could communicate with his mother?”

A smirk tugged at his lips, but Oliver didn't bother to explain his reasons, further encouraged by the huff she gave while he continued speaking. “Roy, I want you to look into Nicholas' death some more. See if you can't figure out anything else from the reports that will give us more information.”

“What would you like me to do?” Tiffany asked.

“I'd like for you to take another walk-through, but with Mai this time.”

Mai blinked in surprise, before raising an eyebrow at him, confused.

“I want you to try and coach her, help her lock down the spirit and see if you can't get a better read on things.” He explained, unable to help the 'obviously' that was unsaid, but clearly heard, judging by the growing redness of anger.

“Fine.” She grumbled, standing up and walking towards the door without waiting for Tiffany, only stopping to stick her tongue out at him.

She couldn't be too mad if she still had the wits about her to be childish at least.

From across the room, Lin rolled his eyes mentally, praying to whatever deity existed that Oliver learnt to at least control his urge to bait the poor brunette when they eventually managed to get over themselves and get together.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Mai sighed, stopping just outside the door, out of sight of Naru, waiting for Tiffany to catch up.

She didn't have to stand there for long before the other woman caught up, smiling slightly at her.

“Are you actually that mad at Dr. Davis?” She inquired as they began walking through the house.

Shaking her head, Mai shot her a wry grin. “Not really. He's always been like that, and it doesn't surprise me that it hasn't changed. I just wish that he wouldn't think everything that makes sense to him will make sense to the rest of us.” She lamented, pouting a little.

Tiffany laughed. “I don't like your chances.”

“No, neither do I.” Mai admitted, before shaking away what little irritation remained.

Holding onto the railing as they made their way up the stairs, Mai grinned. “So, I'm not used to teaching, and it's been a while since the last time I trained with anyone, but I'll try and help you as much as I can.” She promised sheepishly.

Tiffany shook her head. “No, don't worry about that. Anything you can do to help me out is much appreciated.” She countered quickly, cheeks flushing. “I'm afraid I really am low when it comes to spiritual ability though.”

Frowning, Mai shook her head. “Who told you that?”

Blinking a little, Tiffany tilted her head in confusion. “The first medium I worked with said that my spiritual presence was very weak. The other two mediums that I've worked with haven't mentioned if it was incorrect...” She trailed off, biting her lip.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Mai allowed everything else to fade away and focused on just feeling everything around her for the moment, zeroing in on the presence beside her and allowing her 'other sense' to examine the spiritual presence of her (co-worker? Friend? Acquaintance?) temporary student.

Slowly re-opening her eyes, Mai shook her head. “I would never have said that your spiritual presence is weak, or that your spiritual ability is either. The majority of what I feel is in colours of light yellow-green, which means that you're naturally more of a healing soul, and have a lot of inner-joy, not to mention intelligence. It also usually indicates a _high_ level of spiritual development.” She explained, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I'm inclined to believe that assessment as well, given how you _feel_ to me.”

Tiffany's mouth dropped open slightly.

“But- then why did they-” She stuttered, eyebrows creased, looking somewhat torn about asking for information, but also curious.

Mai smiled kindly at her. “It's possible that they can't sense you the same way that I can. I'm not a 'medium' as such, so the way that I feel things is different to a medium. You actually don't feel like a medium either though, now that I think about it...” She trailed off, frowning as she considered the way that Tiffany felt to her.

It wasn't quite like any of the mediums that she knew, closer to how Ayako felt, more... nature-y? Maybe somewhere between them would be Tiffany's speciality?

Filing away that thought for later, Mai took a deep breath.

“Enough about that though. No matter what your previous teachers have mentioned, you've definitely been able to sense _something_ in the past, so I'm going to help you try and tap into that for the time being. I'll get Naru to look into more information about your abilities when this case is finally over with.” She promised.

The beam of agreement she got in response made the conversation she was going to have to have with Naru all the more worth it.

“Okay, so first I want you to close your eyes. Focus on breathing deeply and putting yourself into something similar to a meditative state.” She instructed, waiting for Tiffany to do as she'd said, giving her a moment to get her breathing correct.

When she was sure that Tiffany was there, she continued.

“Now, I want you to let everything fall away and focus on yourself. Try and feel the energy running through your body and recognise it. Allow it to flow through you while you keep breathing.”

One minute.

Two minutes.

“Okay.”

“Now, I want you to take that energy and push it _away_ from your body, reaching out with it like you would any other sense. Don't try to imagine what you're looking for, just let it come to you.”

It was longer this time, before Tiffany spoke, but it was clear the moment she managed to unlock her other sense, the sharp intake of breath more than enough of an indicator.

“Wow.” Tiffany whispered; eyes still shut firmly.

Mai grinned, remembering the first time that she'd managed this as well, relieved that her coaching was enough to help her along.

“Now, try to draw your focus onto me, get a sense for how a positive spiritual presence feels and use it to ground you.” She continued, smiling at the determined nod from Tiffany.

“Now what?” Tiffany inquires after a few minutes had passed; her eyebrows still drawn in.

“Now, keep that same focus, but direct it towards the rest of the house. Feel around for something darker. It could feel different to you then for me, but you'll be able to feel it the moment you find it. It'll just scream 'negative' at you. Then zero in on it and let me know how it feels.”

It was a while before Tiffany spoke again, sweat beginning to form on her forehead before she gasped, the sound slightly pained.

“Oh.”

“What do you feel?”

“It's like a bunch of spiders crawling all over me.” She whispered.

Mai nodded, shivering at the comment, the phantom feeling of legs crawling over her skin dominating her mind for a moment before she managed to shake it.

“Good. Now let go of that feeling; focus instead on drawing _conclusions_ from how the spirit feels.”

Tiffany let out a confused sound. “What do you mean?”

“An experienced medium or spiritualist can tell the gender of spirits, whether they're young, middle-aged, or elderly, and they can sometimes draw conclusions about power based on how the spirit presents to them. Usually you can at least tell what the spirit is feeling since they emote rather strongly.” She explained, biting her lip at the awkward way the English tumbled from her mouth.

“He feels... hot?” Tiffany tried to describe finally, obviously struggling.

Mai nodded. “Angry, maybe?” She offered.

“Yes! But- more. Furious.” Tiffany concluded finally.

Unable to help her glee, Mai grinned. “Well done. Is there anything else that you can feel?”

Tiffany concentrated for a moment, before shaking her head. “Not that I can tell.” She answered finally, tone defeated.

“No worries. Now, I'm going to talk you through returning to yourself. I want you to slowly remove your other sense and focus on returning to how it felt when you were focusing in on yourself, letting your power flow _through_ you, as opposed to _out_ of you.” Mai coached. “Then, when you're ready, slowly open your eyes and let the feeling fade away.”

It was almost five minutes later before Tiffany opened her eyes, blinking a little at the sudden light.

“Wow.” She stated finally, going to step towards Mai, only to stumble.

Quickly, Mai moved to help support her, concerned at the exhaustion on her face. “I think that I pushed you too hard.” She admitted, guilt clear in her tone.

“I'll be fine after some rest.” Tiffany argued weakly.

“Let's get you back to base.” Mai sighed, keeping an arm around the other woman tightly as they began their trek down the hall, back to the staircase.

“Hold onto the railing tightly, and I'll go ahead of you just in case.”

Too tired to really argue, her energy slowly draining further, Tiffany nodded.

Stepping onto the staircase, Mai stayed a couple steps below her, focusing on keeping Tiffany safe.

Despite the tightening in her gut, they managed to make it down the stairs without any problems, entering base without anything more exciting them Mai stumbling briefly at the last step.

Upon noticing Mai's position with her arm wrapped around Tiffany, Naru raised an eyebrow, refusing to let his concern show.

“What happened?” Thomas demanded, far less calm then his co-workers, his paranoia from the earlier events clear.

“Nothing bad, Thomas.” Tiffany promised; sighing when they made it to the couch and she could sit down and relax. “I'm just feeling spiritually exhausted.”

Mai sighed. “I'm so sorry. I should have gone slower.”

“No, no, no.” Tiffany denied, groaning when the way she shook her head caused it to swim. “That was amazing. I've never managed to get that far with any of the other people that have taught me. I just wasn't expecting the drain. I couldn't feel it while I was focused so hard with my 'other sense'.”

Mai smiled slightly but couldn't help the regret that was still eating at her. “I'll go get you a tea. It solves everything.” She stated finally, turning to leave the base once more.

Rolling his eyes at her decision to leave and return to the sight of the earlier attack without someone with her, Naru had to wonder if the brunette would ever start to properly think things through.

“I'll go with you.” He stated before she could get too far.

For a moment, Mai went to argue, before her eyebrows furrowed, and the realisation came over her, causing her cheeks to flush.

“Right.” She agreed finally.

At the impatient look on Naru's face in response, Mai huffed and continued heading out the door, leaving Naru to catch it before it shut in his face, but not going more than a step out of base without him.

Upon realising this, Naru couldn't help the smug look. Maybe she was learning after all.

Noticing his expression, Mai rolled her eyes, stepping into the kitchen and focussing on anything but him as she set about organising tea for everyone.

Before long, however, she was just waiting on the water to finish boiling so that she could brew the tea.

Surprisingly, it was Naru who broke the silence between them.

“Well done.”

“Huh?”

Mai cursed her own inelegant response, flushing at the amusement that was dancing in Naru's eyes when she finally forced herself to turn and look at him.

“You did a good job with Tiffany.” He clarified finally.

Realisation dawned over Mai, and she flushed for an entirely different reason this time, trying to ignore the warmth filling her chest.

“I didn't do that well. I over-did it with her and now she's exhausted. Masako would have provided better coaching.”

Naru shook his head at the guilty tone, sighing. “On the contrary, of all the people who've worked with Tiffany in the past few years, only one of which I've known her, no-one’s managed to get her even _close_ to what you managed today.”

“But I still-”

“Mai, listen to me. I might not be good with people, but I can read them. Tiffany was _happy_. Probably as happy as you felt the first time you managed something like that. And you have a different level of spiritual energy. You aren't a teacher, and you weren't prepared to teach someone. Yes, Tiffany is exhausted spiritually, but she's also much more aware and better off knowing her limits now, then finding out later when practicing on her own.”

It had been a stretch to send Mai with her in the first place, given his lack of knowledge on the subject of her abilities at current. But it had definitely paid off.

Biting her lip, Mai worried it between her teeth for a moment, before releasing it and sighing. “I still feel bad.” She admitted finally.

Naru didn't bother to respond to that. Of course, she still felt bad. This was _Mai_. But he didn't know what else to say to alleviate her guilt.

So, he did the next best thing (in his mind).

“You're an idiot.”

“Wha- Naru!”

He smirked in response, grinning when it gained him an even more irritated Mai, and just for a moment the regret that had been dimming her bright eyes was washed away by the sudden fire or anger.

Good.

“You're such a jerk!” She hissed finally, turning back to the cups to pour the water, shooting a dirty look over her shoulder, still angry at the lack of repentance on his face.

It wasn't until the tea was done and they were both sitting down in base with their respective cups that Mai realised what he'd done, mouth falling open in shock as she turned towards a content looking Naru.

For a moment, she thought about thanking him, but a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips and she couldn't bring herself to give him that satisfaction.

Turning back to Roy with purpose and beginning a conversation, she didn't notice Naru's amusement (or the softness around the corners of his smirk), nor did either of them notice the exasperation of Lin observing them out of the corner of his eye, forever suffering from their antics.

_'Still as good as a Chinese drama.'_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_**((Please accept this deleted scene as my apology for the lateness of this update, and most likely future updates))** _

From across the room, Lin shook his head at how concentrated his charge (and friend, if he was pushed to admit it) was currently, blank faced and yet so clearly struggling to understand a couple of things.

Luckily, no-one else was in the room at the moment, so he could leave the younger man to figure things out for a little while longer before he forced him into thinking about the case once more.

Just this once.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Side note that I couldn't add at the beginning of the chapter because of spoilers, you have my lovely beta to thank for the entrance of Gene. I actually had no plans to add him in at all, despite the moments of a voice 'talking' or 'mentioning' things to Naru. I actually had planned for them to mimic Gene because I figured that Naru's subconscious would lean towards sounding like the person that he trusted most to make decisions, and I don't think that Naru ever truly trusted himself over Gene, but I never really considered adding him. But in one of our emails, she questioned if he was going to appear and so when I sat down to write this chapter, it just kind of, slotted into place? So hopefully you all enjoyed it!

*Welcome to my attempt to make things more realistic. Most of the time, Mai's English is super fluent, but even with fluency there are always some issues, and this is probably the most common one. 'Sayings' or 'idioms' that are specific to a language, rarely make sense to someone who isn't accustomed to hearing it, and when you try and directly translate them, then it really doesn't work? In the case of 'off his rocker', to me that's one of the sayings that _really_ wouldn't translate well, because it mostly doesn't even make a lot of sense in E _nglish_ , let alone Japanese.

**This is taken from the middle of a sentence in chapter 5, for those who are wondering where I pulled this.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! It's been a minute, but with the changes to TCOL finally complete, I can finally get back into things and start working through the plotline for Nefelibata once more. I'm still hoping to work through this fic before the year is out, so wish me luck. There's probably only another 5-6 chapters (at most) of this fic left, based on my original projection, but we'll see if things end up going that way ^_^;;
> 
> On the subject of future updates, the current plan is to alternate weeks with TCOL. For this story, this won't change anything since it's always been bi-weekly updates on Saturdays and currently I have no plans for this to change. Chapters tend to go up between 6pm and Midnight my time (GMT +10), and I always put up a notice over on my tumblr (shellsandottumblrdotcom) if there are delays, or just to let you all know that it’s gone up.
> 
> Please leave a review if you enjoy this chapter and just a reminder, if you guys have any ideas for moments between character's that you'd like to know more about or just cute things that you'd like to see happen, make sure to let me know! You will of course be credited for anything used. Also remember that you can always find me under the name Shellsan over on tumblr. Come chat with me, or you can just use it to keep up to date with how new chapters (or works) are progressing.
> 
> P.s. Please don't hate me ^^;;

 

 

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt**

**Chapter Key:**

“English Speaking”

“ _Japanese Speaking”_

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Ten**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

The rest of the afternoon passed by in relative silence; Mai helping out where she could with research and information gathering until Naru decided to call it, letting them all head off to bed and rest up, ready for an early day tomorrow.

Sighing as she slipped under the covers, she wasn't surprised to find that Tiffany was out almost the moment her head hit the pillow. Given how much she'd exhausted herself earlier, Mai was shocked the other woman had been able to do anything at all.

Naru seemed to have been impressed as well, which was a good sign for their future as a team.

Sighing, Mai rolled over onto her side, staring blankly at the wall as she willed herself to feel some form of _tired_ ; frustrated by the feeling of adrenaline that seemed to be itching at her skin for seemingly no reason.

Nothing.

Groaning quietly, she rolled over to the other direction in the hopes that it would somehow make a difference.

It didn't.

It was silent in the room for a moment as Mai shifted again, laying on her back instead now. Staring at the ceiling quietly and just letting her mind wander aimlessly, she remembered everything that had happened that day.

It had definitely been more active then she'd been expecting, but something told her that this was only the beginning. She had a feeling that things were only going to get more and more dangerous from here on out, and she was unsure about how she felt about that.

On one hand, it wasn't unexpected. From the beginning she'd been aware that this case was going to test her, but there was something more that was tugging at her mind. Like she was missing something important that she'd get if she just managed to _dream_.

It was frustrating. Where in the beginning she might have fought against her dreams, wishing for nothing more than to be a completely normal girl, now she had gotten used to them, and to find herself being blocked was – well, it wasn't fun.

Huffing at her own growing irritation, she pushed it away. It wasn’t going to help anything – least of all with managing to dream.

 _'I can always try,'_ she considered. Dreaming on command wasn't something that she was very good at, nor had she practiced it nearly enough, but it was worth a shot she supposed.

 _'It's not like I'm getting to sleep any time soon,'_ she admitted to herself, noting the way energy continued to flow through herself.

Relaxing, Mai took a moment to focus on making sure her body was completely loose, breathing deeply and letting herself become boneless. Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to focus on her breathing, keeping it even as she reached for her abilities. Slowly, Mai let her mind disconnect from her body, a weightlessness falling over her as her spirit left her body, floating in the darkness.

Frowning, Mai huffed when her surroundings didn't change from her and Tiffany's room.

 _'This was not the plan, Mai,'_ she scolded herself. Noting the differences between the astral plane where she was currently projected, and how the room normally looked, she sighed.

“Well, I'm here now, aren't I?” she pointed out to herself quietly. With a shrug, she moved through the doorway, stepping out into the hallway.

Did this count as going somewhere without a partner if her physical body didn't? She'd guess that Naru would say yes.

Ignoring that passing thought, she focused on looking around, feeling around for Samuel's energy. She might as well see what information she could gather now that she was here.

It didn't take long to find him, and for a moment Mai stood there; unsure of what to do at the sight of this odd scene.

In front of Hansen's room, Samuel appeared to be watching them, gaze trained on them through the door, but doing nothing else. That explained the feeling of being watched that their clients had been experiencing, if nothing else.

Unwilling to leave in case Samuel decided to do more than just watch, Mai continued to watch him, letting her mind wander but refusing to get so distracted that she wasn't paying attention.

Luckily, after what as probably close to two hours in real life (though it felt like maybe thirty minutes to herself), the door clicked shut, and Samuel vanished.

Sighing in relief, Mai trekked back to her room and positioned herself above her sleeping body. Slowly, she allowed herself to re-connect with her body, mind racing at the new information.

Sluggishly, she burrowed down the in covers, finally tired after expending so much spiritual energy; her thoughts fading away as she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

In her exhaustion she didn't notice the shadow outside of her (and Tiffany's) room, narrowed in on her form.

Had she been awake, Mai might have noted the foreboding feeling in the air.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day came all too soon, and Mai groaned when she heard her alarm sound, the shrill noise startling her into wakefulness.

Blindly, she reached out to shut it up, groaning when she knocked her phone to the floor instead.

Forcing her eyes open, she rolled over and struggled to grab it, sighing in relief when she finally managed to shut the noise off.

Groaning, Mai let her eyes fall closed for another moment before she forced herself to re-open them. With great difficulty (and much grumbling) she managed to get up and run through her morning routine, Tiffany following suit, neither of them ready to be up and about again.

“Why does Dr. Davis insist on us being up this early?” Tiffany groaned, as they made their way downstairs.

Mai sighed. “Because he's a slave driver and a jerk.”

Tiffany laughed at her resigned tone as they stepped into base, suddenly much more alert and in a much better mood.

Just like the day before, Lin and Naru looked the same as always, but Thomas and Roy both appeared to need another couple of hours of sleep.

“Morning,” Thomas greeted.

Flopping onto the couch, Mai groaned. “Don't remind me,” she joked, eyes slipping closed for a second before she forced them open once more.

Naru rolled his eyes at her dramatics, trying not to feel concerned at how tired Mai still appeared to be.

“Did you dream last night?” he asked, narrowing his eyes when Mai blinked blankly at him, processing his words slower than usual.

Finally, it clicked, and she flushed at her delayed response, huffing at the smirk that was tugging at Naru's lips.

“I didn't dream – though not for lack of trying – but I did end up astral projecting.”

Raising an eyebrow, Naru motioned for her to continue, pen poised to take notes on anything she told him.

Shrugging, Mai relayed everything that had happened, her confusion about it all still evident.

“I just don't understand what he's hoping to achieve by just _staring,_ ” she admitted.

Before Naru could respond, however, her stomach interrupted, reminding them all that they hadn't had breakfast yet.

“Go and eat something, and then we'll discuss everything further, including what we managed to find out yesterday afternoon.”

Nodding in agreement, Mai gave everyone a pointed look – a silent reminder that they _all_ needed to eat – before heading out the door, closely followed by Tiffany who seemed just as eager to eat something.

Unlike the day before, it was just them in the kitchen, and it wasn't long before they were all sitting down back in base. In one of Naru's hands was a cup of tea, courtesy of Mai – a reward for him having eaten breakfast without her having to actually _say_ anything – and in the other was his notebook.

“We'll start with the deaths. What have we managed to uncover?”

Clearing his through, Roy glanced down at his notes as he skimmed over everything he'd collected thus far.

“I looked into each of the individual cases, and at first I couldn't find a link, until I remembered Mai's dream. She mentioned that there seemed to have been stages, such as his initial death and the dismemberment, and it got me thinking. It's possible – likely even – that the deaths in this house were all caused by the current spirit,” he started.

When Naru waved for him to continue, he nodded.

“At first, I wasn't entirely sure. The deaths are all very different after all, so I looked into it further. Ellis' death is the easiest one, since it closely matches Mai's dream. Newman's, however, is a result of having a bed flipped on top of him and suffocation. It's nothing alike – until I read that his wife came home to find him in this position after finishing a late-night shift. I think that it's likely that Newman was going to be dismembered, but the spirit was interrupted before it could get that far.”

“And the suicide?”

Roy shrugged. “I'm not sure if it can be linked to the spirit, but I will say that being mentally unstable and then haunted would be enough to drive anyone over the edge.”

Considering this, Oliver nodded in agreement. They were sound theories, and better than what they had previously. They also matched his own working theories, since Mai's previous dream, but he needed more information before he could be entirely sure.

“Did you find anything else?”

“Well, once I finished gathering more information on the deaths themselves, I got curious about how our Client looks so much like the man who was killed originally so I looked into the family history of the people who had died here, as well as our client.” Roy paused, in a way that made Mai wonder if he'd just done it for dramatic effect before continuing when Naru looked to be getting impatient. “Every single person that died in this house has been related in some form.”

It wasn't a shocking revelation, but it was good to know that they had information to back that. Waving for Roy to continue, the other man shrugged.

“There's nothing much more to say. Nicholson is the first death, as per our current theories, and after his death, Arthur Wright, a close cousin of his, moved into his old house – this house. After he died, the house passed on to his parents, who then passed it onto their nephew, Benjamin Ellis, when he was old enough. After his death, no-one passed the house along again. Presumably for fear of another of their family dying, but I can only speculate on that. Newman mustn't have cared, however, because he moved in 30 years later.”

“And Mr Hansen?”

“Newman was his great uncle. I'm not sure if they ever actually met before he passed away, or if Mr Hansen is even aware of their relation, but it's definitely there.”

Oliver nodded at the new information, filing it away for later. None of it really helped with solving this case, but it could prove to be useful later on.

“Did we get anywhere with finding out more on Samuel?” he asked.

Thomas nodded. “Apparently after his eventual death, the people who worked in his household came forwards with all sorts of stories about him. He'd never stopped talking to his mother, even after his father passed away, and some of them would often hear him holding a one-sided conversation whenever he walked around his estate.

“Additionally, one of the maids reported a time when he was younger that he took to killing any animals that so much as looked at him. She said that he would mutter to himself about their judgemental looks and piercing gaze. On one occasion, she mentioned watching him rip the wings off of butterflies with sadistic glee.”

Mai shuddered at the new information, suddenly regretting her decision to eat food, and Tiffany seemed to be much the same. It wasn't as if she hadn't experienced worse when she dreamed – she should almost be used to it by now! - but rather that she could never bring herself to fully comprehend the pleasure some people took in hurting innocent creatures.

“According to the cook, he heard Samuel and his father arguing one time over his _activities_ and Constello promised that if he didn't get his act together then he would have him locked up. Allegedly, Samuel's behaviour was better after this for a short period. The household members all thought that he may actually be turning over a new leaf.”

“What happened?” Mai asked.

Shrugging, Thomas gave her a hopeless look. “I'm not entirely sure. There are no accounts that I can find after that. Presumably something big, because there are suspicions that he was responsible for his father's death, but nothing concrete.”

Snapping his notebook closed, Oliver considered this. “In that case, we're missing some key information. Keep digging, see what else you can manage to find.”

Thomas nodded in agreement.

Sighing at the new information that was swirling in her mind, Mai glanced forlornly at her now empty teacup, and her already waning energy.

“Would anyone like a cup of tea?” she offered, getting up from her place on the couch. She ignored Naru's raised eyebrow – she already knew _his_ answer.

At Lin's inclined head, she nodded, and turned her attention towards Roy and Thomas.

“A coffee would be amazing, if you don't mind,” Thomas admitted.

Mai grinned, “Of course.”

“I'm good,” denied Roy.

Shrugging, Mai smiled at Tiffany. “Care to come on a walk with me?”

The other woman laughed. “I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?”

Mai just smiled and turned to head out of the room, content when she heard Tiffany get up and follow her.

Almost as soon as she exited the base, she couldn't help but notice the feeling of being watched. Looking around, she frowned when she couldn't spot anyone.

“Mai?” Tiffany asked, from her place in the kitchen doorway, head tilted, and an eyebrow raised.

“It's nothing.”

Shrugging, the woman nodded. “If you say so.”

Catching up, Mai was relieved when the feeling seemed to fade away as she entered the kitchen.

On auto-pilot, she moved around to get the drinks ready, mind far away as she considered what she'd just felt.

Was Samuel watching her now? It wouldn't be the first time that a spirit had kept an eye on her, but she wasn't sure why he would be watching her _now_ of all times. Thinking back to her adventures the previous night, she tried to recall if Samuel had shown any sign of knowing about her presence.

There was nothing that she'd noticed.

 _'Maybe it's because of everything that happened in the kitchen yesterday?'_ she considered. But then wouldn't it have made sense for the feeling to have started straight away?

_'Unless he was unable to?'_

Something about that didn't seem _right_ to her though, so she was almost positive that wasn't it. Which just led her back to her midnight escapade again.

“Mai?”

Snapping from her thoughts, she blinked over at Tiffany. “Yes?”

Tiffany smiled at her. “Nothing important. It's just that you've finished making the drinks and have been staring off into space for the past few minutes...” she trailed off. “Are you alright?”

Smiling sheepishly, Mai nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought about this case is all.”

There was a noise of understanding from the other woman, and she let the subject drop thankfully.

Picking up the tray she had for the drinks, Mai signalled for Tiffany to go ahead of her, before following after her.

“We'd better get back to base, before Naru complains that we're wasting time,” Mai joked.

Tiffany laughed with her. “Agreed.”

The feeling of being watched returned when she stepped back into the hallway, but this time it didn't catch Mai by surprise, and she ignored the way it made her skin crawl. Something wasn't right, and she needed to figure out what sooner rather than later.

Putting the tray down on the coffee table in the middle of the base, Mai handed out the drinks before settling it with her own, fortified by the familiar warmth sliding down her throat.

Until she knew more about why she was being watched by Samuel now, there wasn't anything she could do about it. Content with this information, she turned her attention to helping out with research for the rest of the day.

By the time evening rolled around once more, Mai's eyes were starting to burn from the amount of reading she'd done throughout the day.

“I hate research,” she declared finally, throwing the information she'd been trying to read through onto the coffee table, and collapsing against the couch tiredly.

Naru snorted at her. “I'm surprised that you made it this far,” he admitted. It was almost impressive, at least in comparison to the hour that he'd originally thought she'd last.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Mai pouted. “I do have to research for my books, you know. It's not like it's a new concept to me,” she grumbled.

“And yet you didn't even last the entire day.”

“That's because book research is much more interesting and you get results faster,” she insisted, huffing.

Naru rolled his eyes at her. “Idiot.”

“Sorry, can we back up for a second. You're a writer, Mai?” Tiffany asked, bewildered by the new information.

Blinking a little, Mai looked over at her and smiled. “Well _this_ certainly isn't going to pay my bills,” she joked.

“That's so exciting! What do you usually write?”

“Horror mostly,” she admitted.

“Anything we might have read?” Thomas asked, his own concentration broken by his own curiosity.

Mai hummed. “I'm from Japan, remember? I write in Japanese,” she said, skirting around the truth. It was one thing to admit who she was to her friends and family, but it wasn't something that she wanted to be going around advertising. She used a pseudonym for a reason after all.

Tiffany deflated. “Oh, right.”

Ignoring the pang of guilt at Tiffany's lost enthusiasm, Mai smiled. “Maybe one day they'll be translated, and you can read them then,” she suggested, trying not to wince at how it felt to say that.

Almost instantly the other woman perked back up. “You'll let me know if it happens?”

Shrugging, Mai nodded. “Sure. I can't promise you'll enjoy them if it happens though,” she pointed out.

Tiffany shook her head. “I'm sure they're great.”

Shrugging again, Mai let her keep that notion, relieved when Naru cut in to tell them that if they were going to chat then they might as well go and eat dinner.

“You can come back when you're ready to _work,_ ” he finished, giving a pointed look at Mai.

Rolling her eyes, Mai pouted. It wasn't like they'd been off topic for _that_ long. Jerk.

She couldn't be bothered to argue though, so she led the rest of the team from the room, leaving Lin and Naru in base by themselves.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

As the door clicked shut, Oliver sighed, relieved by the silence. It was getting harder to concentrate with their chatter in the background. That hadn't been helped by the odd way that Mai had been acting all afternoon.

He couldn't really put his finger on _why_ he thought something was off – Mai hadn't really done anything outside of the norm, but something was making warning bells go off in the back of his mind.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned mentally at the headache he was sure he was going to be feeling shortly. If there was something that Mai wasn't telling him, then she probably didn't think it was important.

But just because she didn't think it was important, didn't mean that it _wasn't_ important.

The question was, what was she keeping from him? She'd been forthcoming about her attempt to dream last night, and her resulting astral projection. Had something else happened while she was astral projecting?

That didn't make sense though. He would have noticed if she'd deliberately left something out – he was almost positive. So, it had to be since then.

Frowning, he glared down at the file in his hand. This speculation wasn't getting him anywhere.

 _'You could always just ask her,'_ Gene suggested, voice appearing from seemingly nowhere.

Without being aware of it, his glare hardened at the reminder of his recent discovery. Gene not passing on.

 _'Go away,'_ he said finally, projecting his irritation down the mental link that he hadn't known still existed until the day before.

 _'Come now, Noll. Here I am trying my best to help you out, and you're going to treat me like this? Have some compassion for your brother.'_ It was overly dramatic, and clearly Gene's aim was actually just to annoy him further.

Unfortunately, it was working.

_'I don't need your help. The only thing I need, is for you to move on.'_

He could practically feel the way Gene was pouting at him. _'Fine. Be an idiot scientist. When you're ready to talk though – let me know,'_ Gene grumbled. _'And I was serious about Mai – just ask her.'_

In response to that advice, Oliver all but slammed the mental link shut.

Unfortunately for his employees, this was the moment when they decided to re-enter base, chatting about whatever nonsense they'd discussed over dinner.

Shooting his eyes up, he glared hard at them. “I thought I told you to come back when you were ready to _work_ , not talk.”

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment before his employees scrambled to get back to work, the room going silent almost instantly.

The only one left in the doorway was Mai, and he ignored the very irritated look she was shooting him in favour of returning to his file. He'd wasted enough time on stupid thoughts; he had a case to solve.

And for a moment, he really thought that he would be able to do exactly that. He should have known better.

In a rare show of quietness (or perhaps he just hadn't been paying nearly enough attention), Mai's hand was wrapping around his wrist before he could even comprehend that she'd moved out of the doorway.

For a moment, Oliver was unsure as to what Mai was doing, but then he felt her tug. It wasn't a strong pull by any means, but it was enough that he understood what she wanted.

“I'm busy, Mai,” he said finally, glaring at her.

She glared back defiantly (and if he wasn't so busy being angry, he might even be proud of how alike his own it was). “Then I'll just leave base on my own,” she stated.

“There are plenty of other people you can take with you,” he pointed out through gritted teeth.

Mai scoffed. “Let me re-phrase – I’m leaving base alone or with you. The end decision is yours.”

With that, her hand dropped away from his wrist (and he refused to focus on how much he wished she'd held on when he already felt like he was falling) and turned heel.

True to her word, no-one moved to go after her even as the door slammed shut behind her, irritation clear.

Then the silence was back, not even broken by the clack of Lin's fingers on a keyboard.

It was suffocating, and he could feel eyes trained on him in a way that was only making his temper rise again.

“Noll.”

Looking over at Lin, he glared when the older man gave him a pointed look.

When he made no move to go after Mai, Lin's eyes narrowed back. “Oliver Davis, _stop being a child before she ends up getting hurt._ ”

He supposed he should be thankful that Lin had spoken it in Japanese. It was a small mercy that he was sure he wasn't going to get a second time.

Angrily, he got up from his seat, dropping his file onto the chair and leaving the room, not quite slamming the door behind himself, but it was a close call.

From his place at the monitors, Lin shook his head in exasperation. When would that boy grow up?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It didn't take Oliver long to locate Mai – this wasn't a mansion after all – but when he did, he hesitated. She was sitting on the back deck, her feet dangling over the edge, looking mostly a peace.

“ _What do you want, Naru?”_

He startled, frowning. _“How did you know it was me?”_

Mai snorted. _“My mediumship is different to someone like Masako's. I can always sense spiritual energy. Yours is very distinct, but I can also recognise Lin's, and the team back home, based on how they feel,”_ she explained. _“But that doesn't answer my question. What do you want?”_

Filing away the new information for later, Oliver struggled to figure out what he wanted to say. Finally, he settled on the truth. _“Lin told me to go after you. You aren't meant to be going around on your own.”_

“ _And you listened to him.”_

Oliver shrugged, even though Mai wasn't looking his way. _“He may have used my full name and implied that I was being childish,”_ he admitted. _“I wasn't willing to push him further than that.”_

“ _Smart.”_

“ _I am a genius.”_

The words were familiar, but they felt awkward in this situation, and he struggled not to shift, unsure of what to do. This hadn't been how he'd expected his night to go.

It was silent for a moment, before Mai sighed, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. _“Stop standing around and come sit down.”_

Before Oliver could consider a response, he found himself walking over to take a seat next to her. A slightly more comfortable silence settled between them for a moment, and he couldn't help but relax a little.

“ _Will you tell me what put you in such a bad mood?”_

The question wasn't surprising, but he still hesitated. He didn't want to lie to Mai – he'd lied enough to her in Japan, and that guilt was enough to eat away at him still – but part of him couldn't help but recall the day she had confessed to him and how he believed that she'd been in love with Gene.

Part of him still believed that had been the case. That was the part of him that worried about whether telling Mai this information would re-awaken feelings she had for him.

Or worse, what if she'd known that he hadn't passed on and had kept it from him?

In the back of his mind, he could practically hear Gene calling him an idiot scientist, but he closed the link firmly.

“ _Naru?”_

Snapping out of his thoughts, Oliver sighed. _“Did you know that Gene was still around? That he hadn't passed on?”_ he asked finally.

Frowning, Mai shook her head slowly, mind racing to understand this new information. There was a hurt growing, aided by the years she spent wandering the astral plane alone; struggling to understand her abilities. But that hurt was quickly overshadowed by the true realisation of what Naru was asking her – of what he was accusing her of.

“ _Of course not! If I'd known, then I would have let you know. I thought he'd moved on.”_

“ _Evidently, he has not.”_

“ _How long have_ you _known?”_

“ _He spoke to me for the first time yesterday,”_ he revealed, _“but today he was especially annoying.”_

There was a noise of understanding from his right, and he tried not to feel too relieved. She hadn't known.

“ _Can I ask what he was annoying you about?”_

“ _You.”_

The response garnered him a shocked look; a (cute) blush creeping over Mai's cheeks. _“What?”_

Smirking, he raised an eyebrow. _“You've been skittish about something all day, and he was telling me to ask you about it in his own annoying way.”_

Narrowing his eyes at his smirk, Mai huffed and turned her face away. _“And are you going to? Ask me, that is?”_

Oliver rolled his eyes. _“I thought that was obvious.”_

“ _Jerk.”_

It was silent between them while Mai gathered her thoughts. _“Samuel's been watching me since this morning,”_ she admitted finally; voice soft.

As her words registered, Oliver felt his irritation rise once more. _“And knowing this you left base on your own?”_

Wincing a little at his tone, Mai huffed. “ _Well, I wasn't exactly thinking about it when I left,”_ she defended weakly.

“ _You're an idiot.”_

“ _So, what else is new?”_

“ _I'm serious Mai. What if something had happened?”_ \- and what if it had been his fault for not going after her faster?

Mai sighed. _“I don't know, Naru. But it doesn't really matter now, does it? Nothing did happen, and we're better off not imagining the what-if scenarios.”_

Oliver didn't really want to accept that, but she was correct. He didn't want to dwell on the thought of Mai getting hurt any more then he already did.

“ _Fine. In that case, why don't you explain to me why exactly I'm only finding out about Samuel watching you now?”_

The guilty look was back on Mai's face, and he took some satisfaction in that. At least she was aware enough that it was something she should have mentioned.

“ _I don't know why I didn't mention it sooner,”_ she admitted finally.

Rubbing at the bridge of nose, Oliver sighed mentally. _“Is there anything else you have neglected to mention today?”_

At the way Mai flinched, he was tempted to growl. He thought that Mai had grown out of this habit.

“ _It's nothing major,”_ she said, as if that would make things better.

It didn't, and he made sure she knew with a pointed look.

“ _I've had a bad feeling all day. It's not just the being watched; I feel like everything has been too calm,”_ she explained.

“ _The calm before the storm.”_

“ _Exactly.”_

Oliver filed this information away for later. The irritation at Mai leaving base on her own knowing both of these things was rising once more, but he fought it down. Now wasn't the time for a lecture (although he'd be sure to give her one later).

“ _In that case, we should return to base. Who knows what trouble you're going to get us into given this new information.”_

Mai shot him an offended look. _“It's not my fault that I always seem to get caught up in the worst of the trouble in these situations.”_

“ _At least you're self-aware now.”_

Sticking her tongue out, Mai crossed her arms in front of herself. _“I have to be. Yasu made me a chart a little while ago, complete with statistics on what type of trouble I end up in and compared it to one he made of everyone else,”_ she huffed. _“You'd think he doesn't have a day job with how much time he put into it.”_

Oliver's lips twitched into a smirk at the information, filing it away for a future argument.

(He tried not to think about how there might not be future arguments after Madoka and Lin's wedding.)

Watching Mai yawn, he noted that they had probably been gone from base much longer than he'd originally intended.

“ _We'd better head back.”_

Getting up from his spot, he dusted himself off before offering his hand to Mai without a second thought.

As he felt Mai grasp his hand without hesitation, allowing him to help her up before releasing his hand, he noted how odd it was to realise that when it was Mai, he truly didn't care whether or not she touched him.

In all his years, it hadn't been something he'd expected to encounter, and yet here he was.

Even more odd was the fact that he found himself _craving_ Mai's touch. Not with any frequency – he hadn't suddenly become more tactile. But in the quiet moments when he felt more (vulnerable) out-of-sorts, his first thought is of her comforting presence and warm touch.

Yes, definitely odd.

But odd didn't necessarily mean bad, and Oliver had to admit to himself, in his (shielded) mind that he rather liked this feeling.

And he wanted it ( _her_ ) to stay.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

When they stepped back into base, Mai could practically feel the tension in the air. Everyone watched them closely, before relaxing, their relief almost palpable when they noted that Naru wasn't glaring at them again.

“You are all free to finish up for the night and get some sleep. Make sure you're up at six tomorrow and remember to stick with another person at all times, _no matter what.”_

Pouting, Mai rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply to that dig.

“Come on, we can get ready for bed first. I'm dead tired and that bed is calling me,” she admitted, smiling.

“Sounds like a plan,” Tiffany agreed.

Wishing everyone a good night, the two of them set off. Just like earlier, Mai could feel herself being watched, but she paid no mind to the heavy spiritual presence.

If Samuel had wanted to do something to her, he would have done it when she was alone before.

It wasn't long before they were settling into bed for the night, the darkness covering their room and silence falling between Mai and Tiffany where before they had been chatting about mundane things.

Unlike the night before, sleep came easy to Mai, allowing her to fall away from wakefulness without a problem and into a deep sleep, just what she needed after her escapades the previous night.

Or at least – that's what Mai had been expecting to happen.

Instead, she found herself standing in her dreamscape, wandering spirits floating around her in the form of glowing balls of colour.

Part of her cheered at the thought of finally being able to dream, but her instincts were screaming at her that something wasn't _right_.

She hadn't been able to even access this plane the previous night, let alone use it to dream about the past.

Looking around, she waited for a dream to appear, but nothing seemed to happen. Frowning, she considered this.

 _'Is it because I'm being blocked again?'_ she wondered. But if that was the case, then she would have been able to access this plane last night, and it would have gotten to this point.

As if summoned by her confusion, she heard a dark chuckle behind her spirit form.

Swinging around, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of Samuel's shadowed form standing in front of her, eyes glowing red in the darkness.

“What do you want?” Mai asked, voice firm and strong. She refused to waiver. This was her dreamscape. Nothing would hurt her here - not if she didn't let it.

Samuel chuckled once more, and she had to fight the urge to shudder at the way it seemed to crawl over her skin like a thousand spiders.

“What I want doesn't really matter – does it?”

Mai narrowed her eyes. Just what was that supposed to mean?

“It's more about what _you_ want.”

“And what exactly is it that you think I want?” she asked.

The shoulders of the shadow rose and then dropped in a show of a shrug. “Information. You dream of the past – do you not?” It was rhetorical, so Mai didn't bother to respond, letting him continue. “But I've been blocking you. You managed to get past my defences once, but I won't allow you to gather any more information.”

“I don't need to dream to gather information. Just speaking with you now is enough for me to gather new information.”

“Of course, but you're missing the point.”

“And what exactly _is_ the point?” she demanded, part of her terrified of the answer, and the other part of her impatient with beating around the bush.

“I'm going to give you exactly what you want,” Samuel revealed, his glee permeating the air. “I'm going to let you dream.”

It wasn't the kind of glee she enjoyed feeling; all malicious intent covered in a layer of false pretences – like candy coated poison, all fake, fake, fake.

Swallowing thickly, Mai stood her ground, refusing to wilt under his gaze. She'd gone through worse. She'd been face to face with a _demon_ before – an angry spirit inside her own domain was nothing in comparison.

Or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself.

“We're going to solve this case, and you're going to leave this house – with or without my dreams. What do you hope to accomplish by speeding up that process?”

Another dark chuckle slid over her skin. “You misunderstand me, little girl.”

She bristled at the form of address, glaring at the amused spirit.

“I'm going to let you dream – but that's all I'm going to let you do.” The last words were whispered in her ear, cold air brushing against her lobe for just a moment before she swung around in that direction, taking a step back to put space between herself and Samuel immediately.

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?”

There was a 'tsk' before Samuel shook his head. “Come now, little girl. I can't explain _everything_ for you. You have a head – use it,” he mocked.

Frowning, Mai noted how much further away his voice sounded, turning around, she spotted him fading into the background and cursed, annoyed that she hadn't been able to gather more information than that.

With a sigh, she turned her attention back to where she expected to see the beginnings of a dream forming, purposefully ignoring the growing unease that was ringing in the back of her mind.

Slowly, her surroundings began to morph, and she found herself watching as a dream finally began to play out in front of her.

“I told you, Samuel. If you want to inherit this business, then you need to stop with these unsightly behaviours,” an older looking man insisted. They appeared to be standing in a large study, the form of who she could only assume to be Samuel's father – Lord Constello – was sitting in a large chair, eyes trained on Samuel.

There was a sudden loud bang, and Mai couldn't help but jump; startled. Lord Constello seemed to have been expecting it, however, because he showed no signs of surprise at the sudden outburst.

“I've been careful over the past few months. No-one has seen anything that I've killed, and I've even been ignoring mother's spirit to avoid suspicion. Rumours of my instability are dying away. There's no reason for you to keep me from inheriting the company,” Samuel argued.

It was odd, Mai noted, how his voice sounded. Very different to how it sounded whenever she heard him currently – more stable, dare she think it.

There was a considering noise from Lord Constello before he spoke finally. “Very well, I offer you this deal. If you can contain yourself from causing any rumours aside from your sudden recovery for another three months, I will sign you as the official heir to the company,” he offered.

“Deal.”

Samuel didn't seem intent on sticking around for another moment, turning around as soon as he'd accepted the offer and walking towards Mai. His grin was feral, all sharp corners – dark intentions reflected in his eyes as he moved straight through her, reminding her that this was a dream of the past.

Time seemed to move past in the form of a whirlwind, the sky changing colours faster than Mai could note them before everything settled down again. It was the same office, but somehow everything seemed all the darker – all the more _sinister_.

“I, Lord Edward Constello, do name my son, Samuel Constello, as heir apparent of my company. Should anything happen to me, all of my assets are to be passed to him,” Lord Constello dictated, a professional looking man standing before him, pen moving swiftly to scribble things down.

A little to the man's right, Samuel stood, his back to Mai. She didn't need to see his face to know that his eyes would be full of dark victory and malicious intent. Lord Constello signed the will and marked it with his seal.

Nothing else of importance happened for the next few moments and for a second, everything seemed to stand still, Samuel's hand frozen in handshake with his father. Then time was moving again, slower this time. It was like watching a montage, images and scenes whirling past.

Mai watched as Samuel stood outside of a room in a familiar looking house, night after night, silent and unmoving, eyes dark with intent.

She watched as one night, he stood for longer, before entering finally. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what was happening within that room, and she shuddered at the memory of it.

It was odd, however, to note that another shadow appeared. It wasn't part of her dream world though – rather it was part of the _dream_ itself. Which meant that on the night that Samuel had killed this man, there had been someone, or some _thing_ else present.

Time moved forwards again, but this time it didn't fly nearly as far.

Mai found herself in that same office once more, Samuel standing in front of Lord Constello. The previous times she's seen him, the older man had appeared apathetic, but in this moment, he looked livid.

“How exactly do you expect me to explain those _books_ to the maids, Samuel? What were you thinking, you stupid boy? _Satanism_? Books on _Devil Worship_?” The words might as well have been shouted for the power they carried, anger clear.

“They were _hidden,_ ” Samuel insisted.

“Clearly not well enough! And now you have to pay for the consequences. I'll be removing you from the will once more. I can't trust that you won't ruin my company with your blasphemous ways,” Lord Constello informed him.

The way Samuel's shoulders seemed to tighten made something tighten within Mai. This was not going to end well; she could already tell.

“But-”

“Enough. I won't hear another word on the subject. Leave me,” Lord Constello ordered, waving towards the door.

Spinning around, Samuel stormed out of the room, rage radiating from his form as he slammed the door behind himself.

For the first time since she'd begun dreaming, Mai found her instincts urging her to follow after Samuel, so without so much as a glance backwards, that's exactly what she did.

Stepping through the wall that didn't truly exist, she moved quickly to catch up with Samuel, watching carefully as he entered what appeared to be a kitchen. No-one else seemed to be there, and she watched entranced as a he pulled a small bottle from his jacket and tipped its contents into a steaming cup of tea that was sitting on a tray on the counter.

She was almost positive that it was for Lord Constello.

It was minutes later that she followed a maid as she brought the tray to Lord Constello's study, her theory proven correct as the teacup was placed in front of him.

Time seemed to move slowly as the teacup was brought to his lips. Mai found herself unable to look away even as time continued to drag on. With every sip he took, she wanted to shout in warning. She didn't know what had been put into his drink, but she did know that it was nothing good.

Whatever it was acted relatively fast, and Mai watched as he finished the cup, his eyes drooping slightly, before the teacup fell from his hand, rolling along the desk before crashing to the ground just as Lord Constello's body fell forwards, hitting the desk with a thump.

Mai swallowed thickly when the scene continued playing out in front of her. She couldn't tell how long she'd been asleep at this point, but she was positive that this was the longest time she'd ever dreamed, and it was beginning to concern her.

_'I need to tell Naru about all of this.'_

Taking a deep breath, Mai closed her eyes and tried to feel for her body to reconnect and be dragged away. Her eyebrows furrowed when she struggled to find her body, the connection was... _hidden?_

Finally, she managed to grasp it, only for it to slip away.

Trying again, the same thing repeated itself. Then again. And again. And _again._

“What the-”

Her voice cut off as realisation dawned on her, mind flashing back to what Samuel had said to her earlier. The meaning seemed to clear to her now, and she cursed herself for not recognising the potential danger sooner.

“ _I'm going to let you dream – but that's all I'm going to let you do.”_

Cold fear gripped her, and she shivered.

What was she going to do now?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to come and shout at me over at shellsan.tumblr.com!!


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